Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 117

50 gmtamarindpulp,mashed
into125mlboilingwater
andsteepedfor 15 minutes
350 gmporkbabybackribs,
cutinto5cmpieces(ask
yourbutchertodothis)
1 smallonion,quartered
1 tomato,cutintowedges
8 cherrytomatoes,halved
1 heaped tbsp palm sugar

ThisextractfromTheFoodof

NorthernThailandbyAustin

Bush(ClarksonPotter,an

imprintofPenguinRandom

House,LLC,$59.99,hbk)

hasbeenreproducedwith

minorGT style changes.

800 gmporkbelly,cutinto
2.5cmx 5cmpieces
1 tspgroundturmeric
1 tspdarksoysauce
1 tspshrimppaste
2 goldenshallots,halved
andslicedlengthways
25 gmThaigarlicor5 garlic
cloves
50 gmginger,peeledand
cutintojulienne
1 tspwhitesoysauce
(seenote)
1 tspMaggiSeasoning
1 tbspoystersauce
½ tspchickenstockpowder
1 tspwhitesugar
1 tbsphanglaypowder
(seenote)
1 tbsptomatosauce
1 tbspsriracha
100 gmtamarindpulp,mashed
into125mlboilingwater
andsteepedfor 15 minutes
Steamedlong-grain rice,
to serve

1 Placepork,turmeric,soy

sauce,shrimppasteand

enoughwatertonearlycover

theporkina wokoverlow-

mediumheat.Coverwith

a lidandbringtoa simmer.

Reduceheattolowand

simmer,coveredandstirring

occasionally,for 10 minutes,

thenaddshallot,garlicand

ginger,removelidandsimmer,

uncovered,untilliquidis

reducedslightly(20minutes).

Stirinwhitesoysauce,Maggi

Seasoning,oystersauce,stock

powder,sugar,hanglaypowder,

tomatosauceandsriracha.

Simmer,uncovered,untilliquid

hasreducedbyabouta third,

porkis startingtobecome

tenderanda thinlayerof

oilappearsonthesurface

(20minutes).

2 Straintamarindmixture

througha sieveintothepork

mixture, pressing to extract as

KAENGHANGLAYTAI

Shan-style pork belly curry

SERVES 4

“Hanglayis thoughttobea corruptionofhinlay,colloquialBurmesefor‘stronglyseasonedporkcurry’(kaengsimply
means‘curry’),”saysBush.“PossiblywiththehelpoftheShan,hinlaycrossedtheborderandeventuallyspreadacross
northernThailand.ThedishasmadebyShancooksinMaeHongSonremainsa relativelysimple,rusticaffair,withpalpable
linkstoitsBurmeseorigins.It is notmadefroma currypastethathasbeenpoundedina mortarandpestle,butrather
grounddriedherbsareaddedtothedishasseasonings.A finalBurmeseinfluence– bywayofIndia– is seenintheuse
ofhanglaypowder,a mild,fragrantdriedspicemixture.MaeHongSon-stylekaenghanglaycanrevolvearound main
ingredients, from dried fish to potatoes, yet pork belly has emerged asthedefinitiveversion.”Picturedp114.

muchliquidaspossible(discard

solids).Simmer,uncovered,

untilporkis tenderbutnotyet

fallingapart(10-20minutes).

Seasontotaste;it shouldbe

relativelythickinconsistency

anddarkincolour,andshould

tastepredominantlytartandof

umami,and,toa lesserextent,

saltyandsweet.Servewarm,

withsteamedrice,aspartof

a Shanmeal.

NoteWhitesoysauce,orshiro

shoyu,is availablefromAsian

grocers.Hanglaypowder

is a spicemixturederived

fromIndianmasala,which

is foundcommonlyinthe

ShancookingofMaeHong

Sonprovince.It’savailablefrom

selectAsiansupermarkets.

Alternatively,substitutea

garammasalamixturemade

withhalfthevolumeof ground

coriander seeds.●

30 gmshrimppaste

300 gmyuchoygreens

(choysum),coarsestalks

discarded,larger

leaveshalved

3 largedriedredchillies

(seenote)

Sticky rice, to serve

1 Pushtamarindmixture

througha sievetoextract

liquid(discardsolids).Youshould

endupwithabout60mlliquid.

2 Bringporkand750mlwater

totheboilin a largesaucepan

overhighheat.Reduceheatto

low-medium,coverandsimmer

for 10 minutes.Addtamarind

liquid, onion, tomato and cherry

tomatoes,palmsugar,shrimp

pasteand1 tspsalt.Simmer

untiltomatois justtender

(4minutes).Addyuchoy

andsimmeruntiltenderbut

notovercooked(5minutes).

3 Meanwhile,dry-roastchillies

in a wokovermediumheat,

stirringfrequently,untilfragrant

anddark(3-4minutes;see

cook’snotesp152).Seasonsoup

totaste;it shouldhavea near-

perfectbalanceofsweet,salty

andtartflavours.Servesoup

warmoratroomtemperature

withroastedchilliesontopand

stickyriceonthesideaspart

ofa northernThaimeal.

NoteLargedriedchilliesare

available from Thai grocers.

JAWPHAKKAAT

Soupof yu choy greens and pork ribs

SERVES 4

“TherecipeforthisclassicnorthernThaisoupcombiningporkribs,greens,tamarindandtomatoes,
washandeddowntoSuwapheeTiasiriwarodom,thesecond-generationownerofMaeHae,oneof
Lampang’soldestrestaurants,byhermother,andis morethan 50 yearsold,”saysBush.“Butit would
bea stretchtocallit traditional.‘Ifyoueatthisdishinthecountryside,it’sgoingtobeverytartanda bit
salty,’ explains Suwaphee. ‘In the city, we like to add a bit of sugar’, she adds, chuckling.”Pictured p115.