Spicy Ground Pork

Click to Enlarge	Spicy Ground Pork Thailand - Phat Khi Mao Mu
	Serves Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	3 main ** 30 min Prep	A popular meaty dish with a bit of chili bite. It could also be made with Chicken, in which case it would be Phat Khi Mao Kai. Serve with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice. I serve with Chili Vinegar Sauce on the side so it can be spiced up a bit more - the Thai chilis around here are sometimes disappointingly mild.

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Pork, lean
Garlic
Cilantro Roots (1)
Thai Chili (2)
Thai Basil Leaf (3)
Oil
Fish Sauce (4)
Oyster Sauce
Palm Sugar
Stock

Prep

Grind PORK or chop very fine (more authentic but much more tedious).
Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Chop CILANTRO ROOTS (or stems - see Note-1. Chop CHILIS fine. Mix all and pound to paste in a mortar.
Remove BASIL LEAVES from stems (measure is loosely packed). Set to soaking in cold water (keeps them green longer).
Mix Fish Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Sugar and Stock.

Run

In a spacious sauté pan or wok heat Oil moderately hot and fry Garlic mix until Garlic starts to brown. Turn heat to very high and stir in Pork. Fry stirring until all traces of the raw color are gone.
Stir in Fish Sauce Mix, and toss until it comes to a boil.
When ready to serve, take off the heat. Drain Basil Leaves and stir them in.
Serve immediately with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice.

NOTES:

Cilantro Roots: These are hard to get even here in Los Angeles. Even the farmer's markets rarely have them, so we often have to substitute and use cilantro stems (no leaves) instead.
Thai Chilis: These are pretty hot, but small. If you don't have them substitute 1/2 to 1/3 (your best judgement) of Serranos, which are not quite as hot but a lot larger. For details see my Chili Page.
Basil This should be Thai purple Basil (it's just the stems that are purple), not the light green Lemon Basil which is for salads. If you don't have Thai, regular basil is a reasonable substitute. For details on types of basil see our Mints Page.
Fish Sauce: : Unfamiliar? See our Fish Sauce - Introduction.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch