KAENG DU JOUR

KAENG MAS SA MAN KAI .... or Thai Mussamun (Muslim) Curry is our 'Curry of the Day'. Originated from Indonesia and influenced by Thai Muslims, the history books recorded King Rama 2 writing poems to praise his Queen's culinary skills, mentioning this particular dish. Imagine that? This is the most complicated yet as there are 20 ingredients, in sequence again, out of which 14 must be fried in a dry wok before the noisy but wonderful pounding process begins. While we appreciate how dry roasting can change flavors we could not believe the difference when we tasted the end product. Superb! We used 'kai' or chicken here again, even though pork or beef can also be applied to the recipe. After being introduced to 4 different curry styles, with another 4 on their way, I am beginning to get a feel for 'what works' in the preparation process. I cannot wait to try my own at home, my priority is a Thai provision store which I shall need badly if I were to even duplicate the simplest of what I learned here at Wandee.