Soop Nor Mai

Ingredients

• 500 g fresh bamboo shoots, peeled
• 60 g fresh yanang leaves, or 200 ml bottled yanang extract
• 800 ml water
• 3 tbsp pla ra (fermented fish sauce), strained
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp roasted chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp toasted glutinous rice powder
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 sawtooth coriander leaves, shredded
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Before you cook

• Shred the bamboo shoots by hand or drag a fork through them to make long, thin strands.
• Wash the yanang leaves, then knead them hard in the 800 ml of water for three minutes until the water turns dark green and slightly slippery.
• Strain the yanang water into a jug and throw the spent leaves away.
• Slice the shallots and spring onions and shred the sawtooth coriander.

Steps

1. Put the shredded bamboo and the yanang water into a pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Boil hard for 10 minutes to drive off the bamboo's bitterness, then lower the heat.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes more, until the bamboo bites through cleanly and the liquid has reduced by about half.
4. Stir in the strained pla ra and the fish sauce and simmer for 3 minutes to cook the raw edge out of them.
5. Take the pot off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes, until the bamboo is warm rather than scalding.
6. Lift the bamboo into a bowl with a slotted spoon, carrying a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid across with it so the salad is damp but not soupy.
7. Add the lime juice, chilli flakes and sliced shallots and toss well.
8. Fold in the toasted rice powder, the sawtooth coriander and the spring onion.
9. Taste and adjust: sour, salty and funky should all be loud, with the bamboo still tasting of itself.
10. Scatter over the sesame seeds and serve with sticky rice.