Kanom Muoi - Thai Style Starters This started life, long ago and far away (oops, sorry, that's another genre!) as two traditional Thai starters - a toast and topper called kanom paeng mu and an equally traditional Thai version of shrimp tempura. The name of the toast item is interesting: kanom paeng (bread) literally translates as "expensive cakes" which shows what the Thais think of bread! However over the years my wife has developed these canapes, and this is the current version. Notes On Ingredients: Here in Thailand we can't get Maple syrup, so we use honey. This works just as well, but we prefer the taste of the maple syrup, so feel free to experiment. The only bread available here in Thailand is white bread, but again we find this tastes best with a stone ground whole-wheat bread. If you want to avoid the moderate chilies suggested, you could use bell peppers, but frankly we find they taste a bit bitter, and anyway they are a bit large for canapes! Finally the quantities here make about two thirds of a cup of each of the pastes. Say 180 milliliters. At 5 ml to the teaspoon this will do about 8 toast bites and 8 chilies if they have 2 teaspoons of paste in each. If you use more paste, it'll do less. Ingredients: First toast 6 slices of bread. Cut off the crusts and cut the pieces of bread into four. If the crusts aren't quite dry, pop them in the oven or a dry skillet, and warm them until dry, then in a mortar and pestle or food processor, convert them into bread crumbs. Prepare half a cup each of cooked crab meat, cooked, chopped pork, and raw, finely chopped mushrooms. Prepare a paste consisting of: 3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger 3 tablespoons chopped garlic 3 tablespoons prik phom (ground red chilies) 3 tablespoons crushed toasted peanuts 3 tablespoons khao koor (ground toasted rice) sauté the ginger and garlic, discarding most of the oil, and combine the ingredients, adding two medium sized duck eggs to the mixture (or three smallish hen's eggs). Divide this mixture in three, and combine each portion with one of the half cups of mushrooms, crab or pork, to form three topping pastes. Method I Put about two teaspoons of paste on each of the toast pieces, and then take 2 dozen prik chi fa (a chili about finger length and as thick as your finger, that is the Thai equivalent of a jalapeno - you can use jalapenos instead if you wish), Cut off the tops of the chilies and discard the seeds. Put about two teaspoons of the paste mixture in each chili. Method II With a melon-baller prepare 16 balls of melon, 16 balls of mango, and 16 balls of fresh pineapple. [if you are using jalapenos, slice the fruit and use a sharp knife to cut plugs for the tops of the chilies). Place a ball of fruit on each piece of toast and secure by piercing it through with a tooth-pick. Plu each of the chilies with a fruit ball, and secure by piercing through the sides of the chili and the fruit ball with another tooth pick. Prepare another batch of fruit balls, and wash 16 prik ki nu (birdseye chilies), and pat them dry. Method III Mix two tablespoons of powdered peanuts, one tablespoon of khao koor, one tablespoon of prik phom, and a little rice flour (or cornstarch), to make a dusting powder. Dip each of the pieces of toast, each of the stuffed chilies, each of the fruit balls, and each of the birdseye chilies in maple syrup, and then dredge them in the dusting powder. Method IV Prepare a batter by beating an egg yolk, and adding about a cup of ice cold water to it, then add a cup of sifted plain [all-purpose] flour, and mix to a thin batter. Add a teaspoon of prik phom and a teaspoon of freshly ground prik Thai (black pepper). Dip the canapes in the batter a few at a time, and deep fry until crisp. Serve on a platter with the dipping sauces used for satay, and some uncooked fruit balls, and cucumber slices. Footnote: Thais eat the tempura prik ki nu with considerable gusto, but farangs should probably be warned that these are almost literally diabolical! Recipe By: Muoi Khuntilanont Yield: 1 servings