4-5dried red long chili (phrik chee fa) (พริกชี้ฟ้าแห้ง)
2-3yardlong beans (ถั่วฝักยาว)
1tablespoonfish sauce (น้ำปลา)
neutral tasting cooking oil (น้ำมันพืช)
Instructions
Begin by preparing the shrimp paste. Roasting the paste wrapped with banana leaf serves two important purposes. First, this preparation method makes the paste fragrant, reducing the foul odor. Second, and perhaps more important, is that roasting the paste eliminates any parasites that might be lurking in it, making it safe to eat. If you do not have access to banana leaves and/or a charcoal grill, use aluminum foil and roast on a hot pan.
Wrap the shrimp paste with the banana leaf.
Secure both ends with wooden toothpicks.
Roast the wrapped shrimp paste over a charcoal grill on low heat until fragrant.
Remove the shrimp paste from the banana leaf; set aside.
Cut the garlic into very thin slices.
Fry the garlic in 2-3 tablespoons of a neutral-tasting oil until slightly golden.
Add the roasted shrimp paste.
Fry the roasted shrimp paste with the garlic oil until fragrant.
Add the sauce of sweet pork.
Continue frying until the paste becomes smooth; set aside.
Fry the whole grilled catfish in oil over medium heat until the skin is crispy.
Drain any excess oil and, with your fingers, break the fish meat into small chunks. Set aside.
Oil a non-stick pan, and spread the egg mix thin and wide. Cook on medium heat until the surface is almost done.
Roll and slice the crepe-like egg into thin shreds; set aside.
While holding the mango in your left hand, tap it with a sharp knife, creating multiple scores.
Using your knife, peel the scored mango, releasing julienne-like threads of the fruit. Set aside.
Fry half of the dry shrimps until somewhat transparent; set aside.
With a pestle and mortar, finely pound the remaining dry shrimps; set aside.
Cut the shallots into very thin slices; julienne the yellow chilis and fry them until they are bright in color. Set aside.
Cut the long beans into very thin slices; set aside.
Place the cooked rice and the cooked shrimp paste into a mixing dish.
Season with fish sauce.
Add 4-5 tablespoons of sweet pork.
Mix everything well, adjusting the sweetness to taste. It should be salty-sweet at this stage.
Add to the rice half the allotted amount of the fried catfish meat, the julienned green mango and the yellow chilies.
Mix well and taste again. Adjust the flavor by adding green mango to increase sourness, chili for heat, or catfish meat for richness.
Add half the amount of the pounded dry shrimps; mix again.
Arrange the rice mix in the center of the plate using a mold.
Place the side servings around the rice. These include the egg threads, the long beans, green mango, fried dry shrimps, shallots, and the remaining sweet pork and catfish meat.
Dust the dish with what remains of the dry shrimp, and garnish with fried dry chilies.