KUNG OP WUN SEN (BAKED PRAWNS & MUNGBEAN NO

      Title: KUNG OP WUN SEN (BAKED PRAWNS & MUNGBEAN NO
  Categories: Thai, Seafood, Ceideburg 2
       Yield: 1 Servings
  
       1 lb Prawns
       5    Coriander roots, crushed
       1 tb Pepper corns
       1    Onion, thinly sliced
       3 sl Ginger, crushed
       2 tb Cooking oil
       1 tb Maggi sauce
     1/4 ts Salt
       1 tb Sugar
       1 tb Oyster sauce
       2 tb Light soy sauce
       1 ts Sesame oil
       1 tb Whiskey
       2 c  Mungbean noodles, soaked
            -and cut into short lengths
  
   Here's a goody that came out of my new Thai cookbook.
   It's easy and quick to do and quite tasty.  It's a
   baked dish, which is unusual for Thai cooking.  I
   suspect that originally, it would have been steamed.
   Next time I'll try it that way or put a tablespoon of
   water or sherry in each bowl. It seemed a tad dry to
   me.  I cooked it in individual French onion soup bowls
   with lids.
   
   Place the oil in a wok, heat and stir fry the
   coriander root, ginger, pepper and onion.  When
   fragrant, remove from the wok and place in a mixing
   bowl.
   
   Add the noodles, the sauces. salt, sugar, sesame oil
   and whiskey, toss the noodles until well coated, and
   then add the prawns and toss well once again.
   
   Divide the noodles and prawns into four individual
   portions; place each portion in a lidded cup, and
   close the lids.  Place the cups on a baking tray and
   bake at 460F until the prawns are done (about 10
   minutes).
   
   Serve hot with fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and
   spring onions. Serves four.
   
   From "The Elegant Taste of Thailand, Cha Am Cuisine"
   by Sisamon Kongpan and Pinyo Srisawat.  SLG Books,
   Berkeley and Hong Kong, 1989. ISBN 0-943389-05-4.
   
   If you can buy coriander bunches with the roots
   untrimmed you'll be in good shape.  If not, substitute
   stems.  I left it out as the person I was eating with
   doesn't like coriander at all.  It doesn't say to, but
   I cracked the peppercorns slightly before adding them
   to the mix.  By light soy sauce, they mean like in
   thin soy, rather than as in "lite" soy sauce.
   
   Maggi Sauce is a condiment sauce++originating in
   France, I believe++ popular in Asia.  It's somewhat
   like a slightly thick soy sauce.  It can be found in
   the gourmet sections of supermarkets as well as in
   Asian markets. If I didn't have any, I'd use thick
   Chinese soy in it's place. If you can find the Maggi
   Sauce grab it.  It lasts virtually forever in the
   fridge. Get a small bottle, though.  I run across very
   few recipes that call for it.  It's used as a table
   condiment in Asia and is often seen on the tables at
   Vietnamese restaurants here in the States.
   
   The mungbean noodles are the thin, clear "cellophane"
   noodles.  I'd have no qualms about using the similar
   thin rice noodles if I couldn't find mungbean ones.
   
   I picked up a neato garnish from the photo with this
   dish.  It shows a green onion "brush" with a slice of
   red pepper around the middle. Quite attractive and
   easy to make.  Cut a slice of scallion++the whitish
   part++about an inch and a half long.  Slice a fresh
   red chili into quarter-inch slices.  Take a length of
   scallion and push the seeds and pulp out of the chili
   slice.  Slip the rind down to the middle of the piece
   of scallion, then cut the exposed pieces of scallion
   with a thin, sharp blade all the way through.  Make
   two cuts vertically, then rotate the scallion and make
   two more cuts.  Do both ends, then toss the bundle
   into a bowl of water with lots of ice cubes and the
   slit ends will curl up making a nice, tassley looking
   garnish that's great to eat too.  The trick is to get
   chilies that are about the same diameter as the
   scallions so it's a snug fit. Just toss a couple of
   the chilly, frilly scallions into each bowl before
   serving.  It's a little touch, but it adds a lot to
   the appearance of the dish.
   
   Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; July 23 1992.
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