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     Title: Kung Op Wun Sen (Baked Prawns and Mungbean Noodles)
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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