Name: Mieng kum
Yield: Makes ten
Ingredients: 1½ cups water; 3 shallots, finely sliced; 2 tbsp roasted peanuts; 1 tbsp finely chopped chilli; 2 tbsp dried shrimps; ½ cup palm sugar, chopped; 1 tsp sliced galangal or ginger; 2 tbsp finely diced shallots; 2 tbsp finely diced lime, with skin; 1 tbsp dried shrimps; 5 tbsp grated coconut; 1 tbsp shrimp paste (belacan); 1 tbsp peanuts; 2 tbsp finely diced ginger; 10 fresh cha plu leaves or small lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Preparation info

Makes
ten

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Old Food

By Jill Dupleix

Published 1998

About

You look at all these things and think you could never put them in your mouth, raw, just like that. And then you wrap up bits of tangy lime, crunchy coconut, dried shrimps, shallots, chilli and roasted peanuts in a fresh leaf and take a big bite and it all magically melds into one fantastic, power-packed sensation in the true Thai manner. You can find glossy, green pointed betel leaves (Thai: bai cha plu) at Asian greengrocers, or use spinach or lettuce leaves instead.