Northern Thai sour stewed greens

Mix the tamarind pulp with the hot boiled water and let it sit until the final seasoning.

Put the cool water and the pork in a pot and bring it to a boil.

Skim until the foam is mostly gone, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Pound the garlic in a mortar to a rough consistency and reserve half of it.

Add the halved shallots, shrimp paste and salt to the mortar and pound to a paste.

Add the paste to the soup with the guandong vegetable, cover and boil about 30 to 40 minutes until soft.

Toast the toa nao in the microwave 90 seconds at medium power, then pound it to a powder in the mortar.

Season the soup with MSG, sugar and the optional roti powder, add the pounded toa nao, strain in the tamarind juice and turn off the heat.

Over a low flame fry the dried chilies until crisp, about four minutes, and scoop them out.

In the same oil over a medium flame fry the reserved garlic about five minutes until barely golden, then heat off and keep stirring one more minute.

Top with the fried garlic, chopped cilantro, the fried chilies and optionally a drizzle of the chili garlic oil.

Serve with sticky rice, formed into a ball or saucer in the hand and used to grab the dish.