Forget durian; when the dry season comes around, I’m most excited about the emergence of phak hueat, the budding leaves of the white fig tree.
“The leaves are only available during the dry season, for two or three months,” explains Surat Wangwaew, the chef/owner Sai Ua Mae Jan Dee, an excellent northern Thai restaurant in Lampang, and the source of this recipe. “The young, tender, red buds are tart, while the older green leaves are astringent.”
Surat goes on to tell me that phak hueat feature in a number of dishes in northern Thailand, from soups to sides for chili-based dips. But if you ask me, steamed and coupled with ground pork and a few tomatoes, they’re seemingly made for this dish, a cross between a salad and a stir-fry with that rare and delicious intersection of meaty and salty, sour and astringent.
Yam Phak Hueat
ยำผักเฮือด
A salad of young white fig leaves
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Salad
200 grams young white fig leaves
2 tablespoons lard
140 grams ground pork
12 cherry tomatoes (approximately 140 grams total), halved
7 shallots (approximately 50 grams), peeled and sliced thinly
For the Curry Paste
10 medium dried chilies (approximately 5 grams total)
1 small piece of galangal (approximately 8 grams), peeled and sliced thinly
¼ teaspoon salt
5 shallots (approximately 45 grams), peeled and sliced
20 small garlic cloves (approximately 15 grams total)
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
Garnishes
1 small bunch cilantro (approximately 5 grams), chopped
1 bunch green onion (approximately 20 grams), chopped
1 heaping tablespoon crispy garlic and garlic oil (see page 000)
10 crispy deep-fried chilies (see page 000)
Thai Kitchen Tools
Thai-style steamer
granite mortar and pestle
medium (approximately 12-inch) wok
Procedure
To a Thai-style steamer over high heat, add the white fig leaves. Steam until tender, about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, chop roughly.
While the leaves are steaming, make the curry paste: To mortar and pestle, add the chilies, galangal and salt. Pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the shallots and garlic, pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the shrimp paste, pound and grind to a fine paste.
To a wok over medium-low heat, add the lard, ground pork and curry paste. Fry, stirring to combine, until the pork is cooked through and mixture is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pressing to crush and combine with the pork mixture until tomatoes have been reduced to something just short of a sauce or paste, another 5 minutes. Add the white fig leaves, stirring to combine, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the sliced shallots, stirring to combine. Taste, adjusting seasonings if necessary; yam phak hueat should taste equal parts meaty and savory, followed by slightly tart and astringent.
Remove to a serving plate, garnish with the cilantro, green onion, crispy garlic and crispy deep-fried chilies and serve, at room temperature, with sticky rice, as part of a northern Thai meal.