Thai Leave Roll

Hi! Saw the pic that was posted by Christina? That salad is called Mieng Kham or Thai Leaves Roll. This is an exotic Thai salad. It's a great appetizer and healthy snack. An excellent dish to serve at a party. I managed to get the recipe from the net. Somebody pls try it out and make during our next potluck okay?

In Thailand, Mieng Kham is usually served with betel leaves (Mini daun sirih). If getting the leaves poses as a big problem to you, instead, it can be substituted with lettuce, cabbage or a similar broad leaf vegetable.

You will need:

• 1/4 cup dried shrimp
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
  
• 20-30 betel leaves or lettuce leaves
• 1 chopped lime (with skin - the thinner the skin, the better)
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 20 chopped small thai chillis
• 1/2 cup grated toasted coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped raw ginger, tumeric (kunyit)

You can also add other optional items such as shredded kaffir lime leaves to add the extra zing..

.....and then the sauce:

• 1/2 tablespoon finely sliced galangal (aka "blue ginger")
  
• 1/8 cup chopped shallots
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup palm sugar (gula melaka)
  
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/4 cup grated toasted coconut

Directions:

1. Dry roast the coconut in a wok on medium high, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Cook until the coconut is medium brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside the amount used for the sauce, and put the rest into a serving bowl.
2. Cut up all the ingredients which are not to be put into the sauce into small 1/4″ pieces. Arrange in small bowls, or in piles on a plate.
3. Now, for the sauce… pound together the shallots and galangal until fine. Set aside.
4. In a small sauce pan, add the water, fish sauce, palm sugar & shallot/galangal mixture.
5. Boil over medium heat to reduce the sauce to the thickness shown in the picture below. You’re going to boil off about 1/2 the liquid. Make sure to keep stirring every now and then.
6. Add the roasted coconut, remove from heat, and put into a small bowl.
7. To eat… Take a leaf and fold the bottom to make a pouch (see large pic above). Put a large pinch of roasted coconut in first, then follow with a piece or two of everything else from the serving bowls: shallots, lime, ginger, peanuts, shrimp and a chili if desired. There is no ‘proper’ order to put them in. Then, add a bit of sauce on top, roll the leaf to make a packet, and eat in one bite. Eating Mieng Kam is like a taste explosion.