Lightly toasted your dry shrimps and cashew nuts (one ingredient at time) on and medium heat non-oil pan for about 5-8 min. Put them in a small bowl each. Wash and dry wild betel leaves. I bought them from china town in London but you can but them online. If you cannot fine wild betel leaves you can use green cabbage.
Toasted desiccated coconut on medium heat non-oil pan for 8-10 min or until the desiccated coconut become golden brown. Put them in a small bowl.
To make the maing sauce, Melt the palm sugar with the water, tamarind paste, lemongrass and fishsauce in a small pan.
Once all the sauce melted and combined, you’re looking for a treacle-like consistency. Do not cook for too long as it will make the mixture too sticky. Strain the lemon grass off and add some chilli flakes if prefer. The maing sauce should set and solidify a bit once it’s cold.
Plate up your maing and sauce in a serving plate.
Lay the betel leaves on a flat surface, spoon on some of the diced lime, shrimps, ginger, shallots, cashews and more sliced chilli, if you would like some extra heat and add maing sauce on top.
Eat in one bite wrapped in the leaf. It should offer the burst of all beautiful Thai flavours in a mouthful – bitter from the leaf, salty from the shrimp, sour from the lime and spicy from the chilli. It’s very addictively delicious.
