hai food is never too complicated to cook nor is it awfully time-consuming. It is down to the right combinations of fresh ingredients to impress the eater.The list of what goes into ho mok talay (ห่อหมกทะเล) may sound intimidating to the uninitiated, but it is really a coconut-milk based seafood omelette with Thai herbs and spices. And a great one at that!
In Thailand they normally steam it in banana leave boxes, but I couldn't be arsed with such dainties. I just slow-cook it in a huge pig iron wok with just the same result! The quantities of the ingredients really depend on how much of ho mok you want to end up. So there you go:
- Heat a nice thick-bottomed wok. Oil it with odourless vegetable oil.
- Chop half a bunch of pak bung and line the wok with it.
- Add seafood and white filleted fish. I use shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, baby octopuses (octopussies?) and whatever gifts of the deep brine I can lay hold of.
- Beat eggs and mix them with coconut milk and some corn starch: about 2 eggs and a tablespoonful of starch per tin. Two tins and 4 eggs fill up my huge wok.
- Add: sliced galangal root (about 2 inches), 6-8 finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, a tablespoonful of ground kurkuma (turmeric), 2 stalks of lemon grass (chopped) and 1-2 chopped chilies (ho mok is not supposed to come out too spicy!), 3 tablespoonfuls of crushed peanuts.
- Pour the mixture into the wok and make sure it goes al the way through the fish, seafood and pak bung.
- Cover with a lid and cook on low fire until it achieves the texture of omelette.
- Serve with freshly steamed jasmine rice!
The technology is the same with those banana leave boxes, but then you steam them for 15-20 minutes.
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Thai language school and translation agency in Bangkok, Thailand offering Thai, Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian and Laotian (Lao, Isarn, Isaan) language courses.
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