Mahor Modern Thai morsel
Fresh Apple bite : Ma-hor
Mahor is one of many traditional Thai nibbles that has such a unique look and taste. It has long been in our kitchen and tracing back to its origin can be blurred. Once said this similar dish was introduced by Mon people from Burma once the Kingdom of Siam (former Thailand) ruled over years ago. A combination of savoury caramelised filling of pork, prawn meat and sweet radish cooked together in fragrance past of fresh coriander root, white pepper and garlic. Serving this dish is also unique as it uses seasonal fruit with medium to strong sour taste e.g starfruit, pineapple, Mandarin. However weird this may sound, once this combination is in your mouth and chewing through flavours. It’s a magical ride sweet, sour and salty. In this recipe I will adapt into the total vegetarian version and make use of abundant green apples as well.
Ingredients for filling
½ cup sweet radish
⅓ cup crushed peanut
2 tbsp brown sugar
A pinch of salt (not too much)
A dash of water
2 coriander roots
4 garlic cloves
½ tsp white pepper
How to make
Pound the coriander roots and garlic together in a mortar and pestle until it forms a semi-fine paste.
In a pan, add a dash of cooking oil, add the paste then fries to fragrance. Add the sweet radish, crushed peanuts, brown sugar, salt and a dash of water to the pot.
Mix everything together and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the radish has softened. This should take around 10-15 minutes.
Once the filling is cooked, remove it from the heat and add the coriander paste. Mix everything together well.
To assemble the morsels, take a thin slice of green apple and place a mint leaf on top. Add a spoonful of the filling on top of the mint leaf and garnish with crushed toasted peanuts and a slice of red onion.
Serve the Mahor as a traditional Thai appetizer, and enjoy the unique combination of sweet, sour and salty flavors.
