Khao mu daeng - red prok with rice

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. 

Traditionally the pork was marinaded in a highly complex mixtrue 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 follwos is my sister-in-law's recipe, 
and she got it from her father. Father-in-law used a very traditional 
recipe, 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. 

Again this will feed two hungry people or four with moderate appetites. 

-- 

You need about a pound of pork loin, pork steak, or pork chops. 

--The marinade is made by mixing

- a quarter cup of chopped tomato from which the seeds and skin have 
been discarded 
- 4 tablespoons of fish sauce 
- 4 tablespoons of honey 
- 2 preserved chinese plums, chopped 

This is mixed in a blender, and the meat thoroughly painted with it and 
left to 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 redder use cochineal food colorant. 

--method

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.  

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 
sized pieces. 

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 necesary to thicken it. 

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. 

Note that the meat and sauce may be served cold.