Lettuce wraps at TAC

Perhaps someone could answer a "what are they eating?" question that my girlfriend and I could not get a clear answer for from our server at TAC a few weeks ago. I've seen it ordered at other tables just about every time I've been and I want to try it badly. The dish is served with a big plate of green leaf lettuce that the diner wraps around shrimp and from what my glaring gaze across the dining room could discern as either ground meat or toasted ground nuts. What is this dish? Thanks for your help.

I think what you are referring to might be a northern "do it yourself" dish called Mieng Kum in which goodies are wrapped in a leaf. If you do a search for the images for that, does that look right?

Jefe wrote:Perhaps someone could answer a "what are they eating?" question that my girlfriend and I could not get a clear answer for from our server at TAC a few weeks ago. I've seen it ordered at other tables just about every time I've been and I want to try it badly. The dish is served with a big plate of green leaf lettuce that the diner wraps around shrimp and from what my glaring gaze across the dining room could discern as either ground meat or toasted ground nuts. What is this dish? Thanks for your help.

Shrimp, you say?

You've stumped me.

Unless, what you saw was kûng châe náam plaa, or raw shrimp which have been marinated with lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and chile. [Here, the lettuce is really only present for the purpose of presentation.]

I am inclined to believe that what you saw was nãem “nướng”, or grilled Vietnamese-style pork balls which are served with rice papers, herbs, and a hoisin-based sauce. [Here, the lettuce is meant to be layered in with rice paper, herbs, slivers of green banana, etc.]

And, FWIW, I have a rather low opinion of the dish:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... 285#124285

Oh, and to address the other poster's suggestion, Andy does not serve mîang kham.

E.M.

My eyes could easily have deceived me.

Is this the dish? This is Meng Come I was served at a restaurant in San Francisco.

I think I had what you were eyeing. It was tiny dried shrimp, peanuts, some sauce with fish sauce in it, so it was very earthy and tangy, as well as pork lardons and...if I can remember...bean sprouts. I absolutely loved it and have been thinking about it ever since.

I've had this dish a couple of times in Thailand. On both those occassions, it was served with Betel leaves, not lettuce. It was served on a big platter with the betel leaves heaped in the middle, and with individual ingredients in small bowls kept around the periphery of the platter.

I had to wait for the locals to show me how to eat the dish. They fold the leaf into a conical cup that you hold in one hand. Then you put in ingredients of your choice, fold it, and pop it into your mouth.

Being of Indian origin, I was amazed at the structural resemblene of this dish to a "paan" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan).

rbhatta70 wrote:I've had this dish a couple of times in Thailand. On both those occassions, it was served with Betel leaves, not lettuce. It was served on a big platter with the betel leaves heaped in the middle, and with individual ingredients in small bowls kept around the periphery of the platter.

I had to wait for the locals to show me how to eat the dish. They fold the leaf into a conical cup that you hold in one hand. Then you put in ingredients of your choice, fold it, and pop it into your mouth.

Being of Indian origin, I was amazed at the structural resemblene of this dish to a "paan" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan).

If you search I believe there used to be a small survey of Devon Ave. pan joints on the site.

I'm betting the TAC miang-esque delight being referenced in this thread is the one with grilled pork meatballs. The one Erik M opines is considered "girly food." "Girly-ish" is highly probable, but doesn't take away from it's yum quotient.

Does TAC even serve the miang pictured above(which could easily, as the poster above writes, be served with betel leaves...or even more unusual wrappers)?

Christopher Gordon wrote:Does TAC even serve the miang pictured above(which could easily as the poster above writes, be served with betel leaves...or even more unusual wrappers)?

Paraphrasing myself above, "No."



E.M.