Ma Haw

Ma haw or ma hor ม้าห้อ, literally translated to Galloping Horses is a popular Thai appetizer and is said to be named in honor of King Rama VII's excellent horsemanship. The sweet and sticky caramelized minced pork is topped on segments of fresh pineapple or tangerine and garnished with a coriander leaf and thinly sliced red chili.

It is great as finger food at parties, as you can just lift a piece off the plate and pop the bite-size hors d'oeuvres into the mouth. At our bloggers gathering a few months ago, this was what I made. I cooked the pork at home, and assembled it at the party.

A multitude of colors from the pork, pineapple, coriander and chili. In Thai cuisine, a balance of flavors (sweet,sour, salty and spicy) is important and this dish definitely delivers. Use good-quality pineapple (not overly ripe which is both sweet and slightly tart in taste) for this dish to shine. The minced pork plus peanuts contributes to the sweet and salty element and the chillies is added for the spicy factor.

Estimate time to prepare: 10 minutes.

Estimate time to cook: 30 minutes.

The recipe serves 2 people.

Ingredients

1. Ground pork 300 g.

2. ½ Cup of Palm sugar

3. 3 Tablespoon of ground roasted peanut

4. 5 cloves of ground garlic

5. Pineapple 200 g.

6. 2 Tablespoon of fish sauce

7. Cilantro leaf

8. 1 Red chilli, very finely sliced

9. 2 Tablespoon of Vegetable oil

10. 1 Teaspoon of white pepper

LET'S COOK

STEP 1: Pepare fruit and topping

- Peel the pineapple, then cut into rounds with 1.5cm thickness. Cut each round into quarters - cut off the core and discard as it can be tough.

- Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat, then add the garlic and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, until lightly browned.

- Lower to medium heat, then add the ground pork and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and begins to brown slightly.

Tip1: Use your spatula to break up the meat until it has separated.

STEP 2: Seasoning

- Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, white pepper, and crushed peanuts.Cook for a further 4-5 minutes until the mixture is dry and sticky. Taste and season with more soy sauce, as required.

STEP 3: Serving

- To serve, place pineapple segments on plate, then scoop a tablespoonful of cooked ground meat onto the segment.

- Garnish with a slice of chilli and coriander leaf each.