Name: Explosively Flavored Savory Bites in Wild Pepper Leaves
Yield: Makes 30 pieces
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 30 leaves Betel (wild pepper) leaves, choy sum or large spinach leaves, large stems removed; ½ tsp. Finely grated galangal; 60 pieces (about ¼ cup) Halved, Peanuts, roasted in dry pan; 60 (about ¼ cup) Dried small shrimp, about ½ inch (1.2 cm.); 4 Thai green or red bird chilies, sliced into thin rings, about ⅛ inch (0.3 cm.) thick; 60 pieces (about ¼ cup) Lime, cut into pieces the size of a kernel of corn (skin, rind and flesh); 60 pieces (about 3 Tbsp.) Diced shallots, ¼-inch(0.6 cm.) dice; 60 pieces (about ¼ cup) Diced ginger (young ginger if possible), ¼-inch (0.6 cm.) dice; ½ cup Shredded coconut, or store bought, toasted in a dry pan until browned in spots; 2 Tbsp. Fish sauce (nahm pla); ¾ cup Light brown palm sugar; ¼ tsp. Thai shrimp paste (gkapi), toasted

Preparation info

Makes
30
pieces

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Southeast Asian Flavors

By Robert Danhi

Published 2008

About

Sweet, salty, crunchy, sour, savory and spicy. This one-bite wonder exemplifies what Thai flavors are all about: as you slowly chew on these packets, flavors explode on your palate like fireworks’ grand finale. Khum translates as mouthful and miang refers to multi-component snacks.Great for casual parties, these little morsels can be set up for guests to assemble to their own tastes. If the pepper leaves (“bai cha-ploo”) are not available, use large spinach leaves, yu choy or other bitter g