Barbecued King Prawns Miang With Coconut, Lime, Chilli and Galangal Dressing On Betel LeavesMîiang-kam Gûng Yâang เมี่ยงคำกุ้งย่าง

The name Miang can be interpreted as meaning "eating many things in one bite" - from miang (เมี่ยง), meaning "food wrapped in leaves", and kam (คํา), "a bite". This is a variation of the traditional Miang Kam accompanied by barbecued prawns making the entree slightly more substantial and giving it a fusion cuisine feel. The leaf used in wrapping miang kam is not in fact the betel leaf, as is commonly thought, but instead the “wild pepper leaf” – bai chá-pluu (ใบชะพลู) in Thai and Lao. Like the betel leaf, it is a member of the pepper genus (botanically, “Piper”) and therefore the two are related but far from being the same.

Ingredients:

1 small lime (má~naao ะนาว)

¼ fresh coconut (má~práao มะพร้าว), flesh removed and finely grated

16 green king prawns (gûng กุ้ง), peeled and cleaned, leaving tails intact

16 betel leaves (bai chá-pluu ใบชะพลู)

50 gm raw peanuts (tùua-lí-sǒng ถั่วลิสง), roasted, shelled and coarsely chopped

2 red Thai shallots (hɔ̌ɔm-dɛɛng หอมแดง) , thinly sliced

3 fresh red bird's eye (scud or mouse shit) chillies (prík kîi nǔu พริกขี้หนู), seeded and thinly sliced

1 bunch of coriander leaves (bai pàk-chii ใผักชี) picked and washed

1 bunch of mint leaves (bai sà~rá~nɛ̀ɛ ใบสะระแหน่) picked and washed

Dressing:

50 gm tamarind paste (má~kǎam bpìiak น้ำะขามเปียก)

1 tbsp dried shrimp (gûng-hɛ̂ng กุ้งแห้ง)

2 cm piece of galangal (kàa ข่า), peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp shrimp paste (gà~bpì กะปิ)

170 gm palm sugar (nám-dtaan น้ำตาล), grated

1 tbsp fish sauce (nám-bplaa น้ำปลา)

1   For dressing, combine tamarind pulp and 100 ml boiling water in a bowl and stand for 30 minutes. Place dried shrimp in a mortar and, using a pestle, pound until finely ground. Place ground shrimp, galangal, shrimp paste and palm sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sugar melts. Increase heat to high and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until fragrant. Add tamarind mixture and fish sauce and return to the boil, then remove from heat, strain through a fine sieve and cool. Stir in enough cold water to achieve the consistency of pouring cream. Makes about 2/3 cup. Dressing will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 3 weeks.

2   Using a small, sharp knife, remove rind from lime, leaving a small amount of flesh on the skin, then chop rind into 2mm pieces.

3   Place grated coconut on an oven tray and roast at 180C for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until golden.

4.  Barbecue prawns over medium-high heat until just cooked through. Place 4 betel leaves on each plate. Combine peanuts, shallots, chillies, chopped lime rind, coconut and herbs in a bowl, then add 2 tbsp dressing, or to taste, gently combine and divide salad among leaves. Top each leaf with a cooked prawn and serve immediately.