Martin Yan - MEING KUM (SAVORY CUPS)

MEING KUM (SAVORY CUPS)

Assembling your own appetizer is great fun. Pick and choose from the toppings in each cup. Spoon them onto a lettuce leaf; drizzle with sweet seafood sauce-and munch away!

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

Sauce
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1-tablespoon shrimp paste
1-cup palm sugar or brown sugar
3 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/2-cup water

Condiments
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted
1/3 cup diced lime (1/4 inch cubes)
1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/3 cup diced fresh ginger (1/4 inch cubes)
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated

Cooking:

Soak dried shrimp in warm water to cover until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain and coarsely chop.
Place condiments in separate dishes.
Place a saucepan over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add shallots and stir-fry until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add shrimp paste and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add dried shrimp and remaining sauce ingredients; cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
To serve, spoon a little of each condiment in a lettuce cup. Drizzle a little sauce over each serving.

Jaded Envy

In Sanskrit, sila means stone and dhara means green. Run the two through the linguistic wringer and out comes celadon, the elegant jade-green stoneware originally made to mimic jade, that magical green stone that is supposed to bring good fortune to its owner. Many years ago, the Royal Family in Thailand decreed that owning jade was off-limits to everyone except themselves. So what's a luck-hungry Thai commoner to do? Go with the understudy, celadon! Even to the most jaded, toasting with a delicate, hand-made celadon vase or cup is good luck indeed.