The Thai dish of leaf wraps filled with small savory ingredients is called miang kham.
Miang kham is a bite-sized Thai snack or appetizer. Diners place roasted coconut, ginger, shallot, garlic, lime, chili, peanuts or cashews, and sometimes dried shrimp onto a leaf, then fold it into a small parcel. A sweet-salty sauce, often made with palm sugar, fish sauce, lemongrass, galangal, and ginger, is spooned over the filling.
The name means “one-bite wrap”: miang refers to food wrapped in leaves, while kham means a bite. The leaves are commonly lolot pepper leaves, known in Thailand as cha phlu, although regional versions may use other edible leaves or pickled tea leaves.
The snack has roots in mainland Southeast Asia and is associated with both Thailand and Laos. Thai tradition connects its introduction to the Siamese court of King Rama V through Princess Dara Rasmi, while earlier references appear in Thai food literature. It is often shared with family or friends. Despite the wording “betel leaf,” the usual leaf is not the same as the areca nut used in betel chewing.