Munching on Meat

After the palate cleanser (and putting kids to bed), we went on to the meatier portion of the meal. Here, the dishes are served in protein-veg combinations. But to be sure, duck fat was used in cooking either of the vegetable dishes.

#10 Gailan in duck fat. Hmm, this may seem familiar. Okay, it may be a little tame, but we paired it with #11 Chicken grilled in pandan leaves. To do this, chicken meat was marinated in a wet rub of coriander, and ginger pounded into a paste, and then wrapped in pandan (aka, screwpine) leaves. The package is then grilled until the pandan leaves char (but steaming and scenting the chicken with the distinctive aroma). It's a good technique, as it leaves the chicken very moist.

#12 Fingerling potatoes in duck fat. This is a classic preparation, and as easy as they come - brown halved fingerling potatoes in hot duck fat, finish in oven, and salt it.


Lucky #13 is hickory grilled pork with mussamum sauce, an idea cobbled from my fascination with sacrilege dining. The pork were these cuts of pork butt in strips, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and grilled with some charcoal and a bit of hickory wood. The sauce is a complex mixture of coconut, peanut, garlic, vinegar, palm sugar, chili flakes, coriander, fish sauce and cilantro. I thought we had made twice as much as we needed to - but the dish was licked clean in the end.