Miang Kham (Leaf-Wrapped Bites with Palm Sugar Sauce)
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
A platter of fresh leaves with diced lime, ginger, shallot, chilli, peanuts, toasted coconut and dried shrimp, plus a sticky palm sugar and shrimp sauce, for wrapping one-bite parcels.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Toast. Stir the coconut in a dry wok over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until evenly nut-brown. Tip onto a plate straight away, as it burns quickly, and keep 2 tbsp aside for the sauce.
- 2
Soak. Cover the 1 tbsp dried shrimp for the sauce with hot water and leave for 15 minutes, then drain.
- 3
Aromatics. Wipe the wok, add the lemongrass, sliced shallot and galangal and dry-roast over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and dry. Roasting deepens their flavour.
- 4
Pound. Pound or blitz the roasted aromatics with the soaked shrimp and shrimp paste to a fine paste.
- 5
Sauce. Put the paste, palm sugar, fish sauce and water in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring, then bubble for 2-3 minutes, until syrupy. Cool completely, then stir in the reserved coconut; it thickens as it cools.
- 6
Lime. Cut the lime, peel and all, into 5 mm dice, removing any pips.
- 7
Platter. Arrange the leaves, lime, ginger, shallots, peanuts, chillies, dried shrimp and toasted coconut in small piles, with the sauce in a bowl. To eat, hold a leaf in your palm, add a little of each, top with a small spoon of sauce, fold and eat in one bite.
Storage
The sauce keeps for 1 week in the fridge. Prepare the platter just before serving; the cut lime and shallot keep for a few hours, covered and chilled. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.5 g protein per 100 kcal, about 14% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Source of fibre: 1.5 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 1.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 50 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
16.2 g per serving
32.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 64.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- wok or large frying pan
- small bowl
- pestle and mortar or mini chopper
- small saucepan
- sharp knife
- large serving platter
- small bowls
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 234 kcal |
| Protein | 8.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 27 g |
| of which sugars | 19.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 16.2 g |
| Fat | 11.8 g |
| of which saturates | 6.6 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g |
| Salt | 1.25 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
