Kaeng Pladuk Chuchi - dry curried catfish

This started life, long ago and far away (oops, sorry, that's another 
genre!) as two traditional Thai starters - a toast and topper called 
kanom paeng mu and an equally traditional Thai version of shrimp 
tempura. 

The name of the toast item is interesting: kanom paeng (bread) literally 
translates as "expensive cakes" which shows what the Thais think of 
bread! 

However over the years my wife has developed these canopes, and this is 
the current version. 

-- 
notes on ingredients 
-- 

Here in Thailand we can't get Maple syrup, so we use honey. This works 
just as well, but we prefer the taste of the maple syrup, so feel free 
to experiment. 

The only bread available here in Thailand is white bread, but again we 
find this tastes best with a stone ground wholewheat bread. 

If you want to avoid the moderate chilis suggested, you could use bell 
peppers, but frankly we find they taste a bit bitter, and anyway they 
are a bit large for canopes! 

Finally the quantities here make about two thirds of a cup of each of 
the pastes. Say 180 millilitres. At 5 ml to the teaspoon this will do 
about 8 toast bites and 8 chilis if they have 2 teaspoons of paste in 
each. If you use more paste, it'll do less...  

-- 
ingredients 
-- 

First toast 6 slices of bread. Cut off the crusts and cut the pieces of 
bread into four. 

If the crusts aren't quite dry, pop them in the oven or a dry skillet, 
and warm them until dry, then in a mortar and pestle or food processor, 
convert them into bread crumbs. 

Prepare half a cup each of cooked crab meat, cooked, chopped pork, and 
raw, finely chopped mushrooms. 

Prepare a paste consisting of 

3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger, 
3 tablespoons chopped garlic 
3 tabelspoons prik phom (ground red chilis) 
3 tablespoons crushed toasted peanuts 
3 tablespoons khao koor (ground toasted rice) 

saute the ginger and garlic, discarding most of the oil, and combine the 
ingredients, adding two medium sized duck eggs to the mixture (or three 
smallish hen's eggs). 

Divide this micture in three, and combine each portion with one of the 
half cups of mushrooms, crab or pork, to form three topping pastes. 

-- 
method I 
-- 

put about two teaspoons of paste on each of the toast pieces, and then 
take 2 dozen prik chi fa (a chili about finger length and as thick as 
your finger, that is the Thai equivalent of a jalapeno - you can use 
jalapenos instead if you wish), Cut off the tops of the chilis and 
discard the seeds. Put about two teaspoons of the paste mixture in each 
chili. 

-- 
method II 
-- 

With a melon-baller prepare 16 balls of melon, 16 balls of mango, and 16 
balls of fresh pineapple. [if you are using jalapenos, slice the fruit 
and use a sharp knife to cut plugs for the tops of the chilis). 

Place a ball of fruit on each piece of toast and secure by piercing it 
through with a tooth-pick. Plu each of the chilis with a fruit ball, and 
secure by piercing through the sides of the chili and the fruit ball 
with another tooth pick. 

Prepare another batch of fruit balls, and wash 16 prik ki nu (birdseye 
chilis), and pat them dry. 

-- 
method III 
-- 

Mix two tablespoons of powdered peanuts, one tablespoon of khao koor, 
one tablespoon of prik phom, and a little rice flour (or cornstarch), to 
make a dusting powder. 

Dip each of the pieces of toast, each of the stuffed chilies, each of 
the fruit balls, and each of the birdseye chilis in maple syrup, and 
then dredge them in the dusting powder. 

-- 
method IV 
-- 

prepare a batter by beating an egg yolk, and adding about a cup of ice 
cold water to it, then add a cup of sifted plain [all-purpose] flour, 
and mix to a thin batter. Add a teaspoon of prik phom and a teaspoon of 
freshly groung prik Thai (black pepper). 

Dip the canopes in the batter a few at a time, and deep fry until crisp. 

-- 

Serve on a platter with the dipping sauces used for satay, and some 
uncooked fruit balls, and cucumber slices. 

-- 

Footnote: Thais eat the tempura prik ki nu with considerable gusto, but 
farangs should probably be warned that these are almost literally 
diabolical! (Of course if you are taking food to a batchelor party you 
might omit to warn the groom-to-be!   :-)