After yesterday’s brief dissertation on nam prik pao, it occurred to me that one thing I had not really demonstrated about this Thai seasoning paste is its ability to make something very good very fast.
Today I was not hungry for lunch but did want something healthy in a hurry to tide me over. I decided on a quick very small bowl of greens. I used mulberry shoots, but any rather sturdy green would do. If you use something substantial like collards or kale, one collard leaf or two kale leaves would work for a passing snack. For smaller leaves, a generous handful is the right spirit.
All you need is your leaves, fish sauce, a little coconut oil or other cooking fat, and nam prik pao. Wash and chop the leaves or, if they are large and substantial, chiffonade them. Heat your smallest skillet, put in the coconut fat and heat it briefly, and put in a heaping teaspoon of nam prik pao. Stir it around for about 30 seconds to distribute it through the fat, throw in your greens over medium heat, and stir around for a couple of minutes, drizzling with a little bit of fish sauce but not too much because the small quantity of greens can get too salty in a hurry. When the greens are done to the degree of tenderness that you like, put them in a little bowl and eat them. Simple as that. You will feel a pleasant glow of virtue because of the soluble fiber and antioxidants that you have taken in, and it will taste good and take less than five minutes. The leaves are whatever struck your eye on the way from the garden to the kitchen and took approximately a minute to gather. No fuss no bother. You can chop some herbs on top if you want to and that will be delicious, but it will still taste awfully good without them.
You could use the same principle to make a side dish for dinner, or for that matter a main dish, and a few different Southeast Asian vegetable dishes with a cushioning bowl of rice if you can eat it make a wonderful dinner full of interesting flavors. If you are a low-carb person, you can use cauliflower rice instead of real rice, or have both available for the various kinds of eaters at your table. But the recipe as written is for your own private pleasure.
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