Plah Moo Yan ( Roasted Pork or Prawn Salad with Chili Jam)

This rustic northern Thaistyle salad is served at Angus An’s Maenam restaurant in Kitsilano. The pork is marinated with coconut cream, palm sugar and fish sauce and slowroasted until fork- tender, ready for shredding, similar to the Mexican carnitas. Tossed with aromatic herbs such as the heady sawtooth coriander and lemon grass, this is a wonderful salad that can be served with our fresh local spot prawns.

Roasted pork:

½ cup ( 125 ml) coconut cream 1 small round or 3 tablespoons ( 45 ml) palm sugar 3 tablespoons ( 45 ml) fish sauce 2 to 3 lb. ( 1 to 1 ½ kg) pork shoulder, trimmed Rub pork shoulder, skin on, with coconut cream, palm sugar, and fish sauce. ( If the palm sugar is hard, you can melt it with the cream to get a smooth mixture). Score the skin for better crackling, and cover loosely with aluminum foil to roast in 350 F ( 170 C) oven for about 2 hours. Remove cover and roast for another hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 1 hour, and shred with two forks or by hand. Take the skin off and fry for crackling, to use as garnish.

Chili jam dressing:

10 small green Thai chilies 2 small red Thai bird’s eye chilies 3 to 4 tablespoons ( 45 to 60 ml) coarsely chopped coriander roots 2 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon ( 15 ml) chili paste ¼ cup ( 60 ml) sugar ½ cup ( 125 ml) lime juice ½ cup ( 125 ml) fish sauce zest of one kaffir lime juice of two kaffir limes Make the dressing in a mortar and pestle by chopping all ingredients into smallish pieces ( 2- 3 mm). Ground the aromatics ( chilies, coriander root, garlic) first and once a paste- like consistency has been achieved, add sugar to dissolve the fibres further. Stir in the fish sauce, chili paste, and lime juice. Add the kaffir lime zest and juice to taste. The dressing should taste equally sweet, sour and hot, so add more sugar, chili paste or lime juice as necessary.

Salad:

½ cup ( 125 ml) chopped young lotus stems ( optional) 1 cup ( 250 ml) fried shallots 1 cup ( 250 ml) finely sliced lemon grass 1 cup ( 250 ml) finely julienned kaffir lime leaves handful of mint leaves handful of cilantro leaves handful of pak chi farang ( sawtooth coriander) In a large mixing bowl, place the shredded pork and herbs into a large mixing bowl and toss with half of the dressing. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Plah Gong ( Spot Prawn Salad with Chili Jam)

Substitute pork in the salad above with local spot prawns. 2 to 3 lbs. ( 1 to ½ kg) live spot prawns Kill the prawns by submerging them in cold water for a few minutes. Grill the prawns over charcoal grill for about a minute; do not overcook. Once grilled, cut the prawns in half down the belly, keeping the head on, toss with all the herbs/ aromatics, and season with dressing.

Serves 4- 6, family style