Khao Mu Daeng
(Red Pork with Rice - Thai)

Mu daeng is a complement to khao man kai. Indeed in Thailand vendors that sell one very often sell the other, but nothing else. Like khao man kai a good lunch time meal can be had for half a dollar or so. An interesting style for two people is to buy a portion of khao man kai and a portion of khao mu daeng, and to share the meals.

Yield: will feed two hungry people or four with moderate appetites

Traditionally the pork was marinated in a highly complex mixture of herbs and berries to turn it sweet and red. Today the marinade at most street vendors stalls is water to which a little artificial red food die and a dash of sugar is added. What follows is my sister-in-law's, and she got it from her father. Father-in-law used a very traditional, but this version is somewhat simplified.

In Thailand the food is cooked by placing it on a grating in an iron bowl hanging from a tripod over a charcoal brazier, the whole being covered with a large metal drum, such as a 55 gallon oil drum, to trap the smoke and enhance the flavour of the meat.

If you have a domestic food smoker, or can improvise one with a barbeque, then go ahead, otherwise, add a little 'Liquid Smoke' and cook the dish as follows.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork loin, pork steak, or pork chops
• 1/4 chopped tomato from which the seeds and skin have been discarded
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 preserved Chinese plums, chopped

Instructions

1. Mix tomato, fish sauce, honey and plums in a blender.
2. Thoroughly paint the meat with the marinade, and let it stand for several hours. If you cannot cook in a suitably smoky atmosphere, add a little Liquid Smoke to the marinade. If you want it a little more red, use cochineal food colorant.
3. Place the meat, and the marinade, in a casserole, and add about a cup of water or pork stock. Bring it to a boil on the stove top, then reduce to low heat and cover, and continue to cook slowly until just about cooked.
4. The meat is then removed from the liquor in which it has cooked, and drained, then placed under a grill or broiler on high heat and browned. Allow it to cool and then slice it into strips, and the strips into bite size pieces.
5. Bring the cooking liquor back to the boil, and add two tablespoons of dark sweet soy, and 2 tablespoons of honey and two tablespoons of rice vinegar, and reduce to a thick sauce like consistency, adding a little cornstarch or rice flour if necessary to thicken it.
6. Serve the pork on a bed of rice, garnished with coriander leaves, with a supply of cucumber slices, and place the gravy in a small bowl, so the diner may take as much as they choose.

Notes

The meat and sauce may be served cold.

Attribution

Posted by WingsFan91 at Recipe Goldmine 11/15/2001 5:11 pm.

Special thanks to Muoi Khuntilanont.