Miang kham (, ; , ; , ; , ) is a traditional

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n snack from

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. It was introduced to the Siamese court of

King Rama V Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

by Princess Dara Rasmi. In Laos, most people call it miang. The name ''miang kham'' translates to 'one bite wrap', from ''miang'' ('food wrapped in leaves') and ''kham'' ('a bite'). Bai chaplu

Ingredients

Miang kham mostly consists of raw fresh leaves of lolot pepper (, ) or purple coraltree (, ) that are filled with roasted

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

shavings and the following main ingredients chopped or cut into small pieces: *

Shallot The shallot is a cultivar group of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the difference was t ...

s *Fresh red or green bird's eye

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

s *

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

Garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

Key lime The Key lime or acid lime (''Citrus'' × ''aurantiifolia'' or ''C. aurantifolia'') is a citrus hybrid (''kaffir lime, C. hystrix'' × ''citron, C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime ...

(''Citrus × aurantiifolia''), including the peel *Chopped unsalted peanuts or cashew nuts *Small dried

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

Background information

Miang kham is a snack food that originated in the Lao regions of Thailand, originally using pickled tea leaves (called ''miang'' in the

northern Thai language Northern Thai (), also called Kam Mueang (, กำเมือง) or Lanna, is the language spoken by the Northern Thai people of Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai languages, Southwestern Tai language. The language has approximately six mill ...

). The dish is mentioned in ''Epic of the Verse of foods'', a book written by King

Rama II Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father R ...

. In Thailand, Miang kham is usually eaten with family and friends. It is also popular in the Central Region of Thailand. This dish is mostly eaten during the raining season for it is then that ''cha phlu'' leaves are abundantly available, as it grows new leaves and shoots. Before wrapping the filled leaves are topped with palm syrup or

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

syrup which often has been cooked with

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

galangal Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater gal ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

and

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

Variants

In Laos, Miang kham is called Miang. Although a variety of Miang exists throughout the country, there are two popular main types: Miang Lao (or Miang Padaek) and Miang Luang Prabang (or Miang khao). Miang Lao uses dipping sauces made with fermented fish sauce ( Padaek), or pieces of the fermented fish, which provides an intense flavor. There are a selection of vegetables, herbs and spices, and types of leaves used for wrapping, including lolot leaves,

Chinese kale Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, or Chinese kale (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''alboglabra'') is a leafy vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to (but much smaller than) broccoli. A ''B ...

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

and perilla leaves. In some regions, Miang is often folded in cooked cabbage leaves ( Lao: ກະລໍ່າປີ kaalampii). Miang Luang Prabang uses sticky rice paste in the place of dipping sauces. The paste is prepared by blending sticky rice puffs using a food processor and rehydrating the rice with a flavoring broth. The rice paste is spooned and wrapped together with vegetables, herbs and spices in a lolot leaf or lettuce, and served. Alternatively, for simplicity some people choose to pre-mix some of the herbs and spices with the rice paste during the blending process. This Lao snack is sold during festivals, in markets and on roadsides in Laos. Miang can be tailored into a meal, for instance, by including grilled fish meat and Lao rice vermicelli (sen Khao poon) among the ingredients. A variation called ''miang pla'' includes pieces of deep-fried fish in addition to the standard ingredients. * In Thai royal cuisine in the central part of Thailand, have an alternate of wrap that adept the dish to represent of beautiful and social status e.g. Miang Kreep Bua or Miang Kham Bua Lhuang Miang Kham Bua Lhuang (Thai: เมี่ยงคำบัวหลวง) is a snack dish originated in Thai royal cuisine in the central part of Thailand. Miang Kham Bua Lhuang (lotus petals wrapped bite-size appetizer) is usually eaten with family and friends. This dish is mostly eaten as appetizer or snack during the meals. The name "Miang Kham" means "one bite-size wrap". Form Miang (snack wrapped in lolot leaves) and Kham (one bite) in Thailand (Miang Kham, 2018.). Normally, this dish can have many types of wrap such as lolot leaves (Thai: ใบชะพลู) and pickled tea leaves (Thai: ใบเมี่ยง) which are originated in the north of Thailand.

Ingredients

When talking about "lotus" most people might think of lotus as offering to monks and Buddha. Actually, lotus petals can be eaten with many nutritional benefits e.g. high fiber for detoxifying and nourishing health. Also it can be cooked in good side dishes such as Ingredients of Miang Kham Bua Lhuang (Miang Kham Bua Lhuang, 2012), with other ingredient e.g. shallots, chili peppers, gingers, garlic, limes, coconut sugar (Miang Kham Bua Lhuang Thai traditional snack food for good health, 2012).

References

External links

{{Lao cuisine Thai cuisine Snack foods Lao cuisine Vegetable dishes of Thailand

Ingredients

Background information

Variants

Ingredients

See also

References

External links