Hor Mok Pla

Spice Mixture Ingredients:

Cod steak, sliced	½ kilogram
Red curry paste	2 tablespoons
Fish sauce	1 tablespoon
Thick coconut cream	1 ½ cups
Egg, beaten	1 each
Cabbage leaves or sweet-basil leaves, chopped	1 cup
Spring onions, chopped	1 tablespoon
Red chili, seeds removed and finely sliced	1 each

Directions:

In a bowl, mix sliced fish with red curry paste, coconut cream and fish sauce. Add beaten egg, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens. Line a heat resistant pudding basin with chopped cabbage leaves or sweet-basil leaves. Spoon the curried fish mixture on top. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and red chili slices. Cover and steam for 30-35 minutes.

Red Curry Paste:

Ingredients:

Dried chilies, seeded and soaked	7-10 each
Cumin seeds	2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds	1 teaspoon
Kaffir lime rind	1/2 teaspoon
Salt	1 teaspoon
Lemon grass, chopped	2 tablespoons
Galangal roots, chopped	1 tablespoon
Shallots, chopped	1 1/2 tablespoons
Garlic, chopped	1 tablespoon
Shrimp paste	1 tablespoon

Directions:

Toast coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a pan on a low heat. Fry and grind them in a pan on a low heat. Grind them in a mortar or an electric grinder and set aside. Grind chilies and salt together. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with the ground coriander seeds and cumin seeds and grind until the mixture becomes smooth paste.

Correct Characteristics of Hor Mok Pla :

• Hor Mok Pla must be yellow brown, not red, from the colors of coconut milk and red curry paste.
• This dish must not be spicy, sweet or fishy but fragrant from the ingredients of red curry paste.
• The upper layer of Hor Mok Pla must bulge.

Cooking Tips:

• Big dried chilies, unseeded, are prefarable to ensure beautiful color and not spicy taste of Hor Mok Pla.
• Red curry paste must be finely ground first.
• Stir the ingredients slightly to prevent fish meat from breaking.
• Add coconut milk to the ingredients little by little and stir until the mixture becomes rich.
• Scald vegetables to be used as beds of Hor Mok Pla first and squeeze them to remove water.
• Bring Hor Mok Pla to the heat when water is boiling.
• Pork, chicken meat, shrimps, seafood, mushrooms, and bamboo shots can be used in place of fish.
• Hor Mok can be placed in empty coconut shells, foil cups or ceramics cups besides banana leaf cups.

Eating Culture:

Hor Mok is eaten with the main meal with rice.

How to Serve:

Serve with the main meal for eating with rice.

Recipe Variations:

Hor Mok Mu/Kai/Kung/Thalay (pork/chicken/shrimp/seafood) Hor Mok Het (Mushrooms) Hor Mok Nor Mai (Bamboo Shots) Hor Mok Maprao On (Coconut)

Name Derivative :

Hor Mok is named according to the wrapping method in which banana leaves wrap and hide Hor Mok inside. But, popular contianers for Hor Mok are now banana leaf cups instead of banana wraps.

Nutritional and Medicinal Properties of Herbs used in Hor Mok:

Onion

Use : as ingredient in Yam, Khao Phat and other Thai dishes.
Medicinal properties : Used as an antiseptic, also used against coughs.

Prik Kee Noo (Fresh hot Chili Peppers)

Use : Hot chili peppers give the uniquely hot taste and aroma of Thai cooking. It is the star ingredient of most dishes. Almost every dish will taste better with a small addition of these tiny hot chili peppers. Tom Yam and Tom Kha cannot be made without them.
Medicinal properties : Relieves diarrhea, stimulates digestion and the heat, increases blood flow to taste buds and thus increases appetite, relieves infection, dissolves blood clod, and prevents intestinal cancer.

Bai Magrood (Kaffir Lime, Leech Lime or Bitter Orange Leaves)

Use : Tom Yam, Tamkha, and all kinds of Thai curry contain kaffir lime leaves
Medicinal properties : Aids digestion and relieves stomachache.

Kha (Mature Galangal)

Use : Beef and chicken Tom Yams need mature galangal roots to improve the flavor of the beef and chicken. The dishes will have a better aroma and taste.
Medicinal properties : Relieves skin rash, diarrhea, indigestion and body pain due to crash and fall.

Takrai (Lemon grass)

Use : Lemon grass is an essential ingredient of a Tomyam, a popular Thai dish served in most restaurants around the world. It gives a pleasant flavor and covers up the fish and shrimp smells.
Medicinal properties : Aids digestion, relieves stomach pain, increases urine production, and relieves gall stone problems and high blood pressure.

Horapa (Sweet Basil)

Use : All kinds of Thai curries and some pan fried dishes, i.e. fried long egg plant, shellfish dishes; contain Horapa. Horapa can be used fresh in salads and as an accompanying vegetable for regional dishes.
Medicinal properties : Aids digestion, increases perspiration, relieves coughing, fights parasites of the digestive tract, relieves constipation, and cures scurvy.

Gratiem (Garlic)

Use : Almost all Thai dishes - soups, curries, salads, sauces and pan-fried dishes – contain garlic.
Medicinal properties : Cures and prevents atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, aids digestion, relieves cold symptoms, fights some intestinal parasites, helps heal wounds, fights infections, strengthens heart, and clears chest congestion.

Hua Hom (Shallots)

Use : Shallots are ingredients of all kinds of curry pastes, hot sauces and salads.
Medicinal properties : Aids digestion, relieves cold symptoms, increases appetite, and regulates menstruation.

Luk Phakshee (Coriander Seeds)

Coriander seeds are small and white or pale brown and taste fizzy like licorice. Coriander leaves smell and taste better.Use : Stir-fried coriander powder is used as spice in clear soup, curries, stew, duck, chicken, pork and goose dishes, or added to apple pies, custard, fruit salad, cream and even in gin.
Medicinal properties : Relieves swellings, high cholesterol, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, anaemia and kidney problems.