Lao stew with dried buffalo skin

Ingredients
• 8–10 C (2 l/4 pt) water 
• 1 small handful dried buffalo skin strips (1 – 2 strips), chopped into 1 cm (½ in) pieces (or dried beef)
• 3 fingers chilli wood (mai sakahn) or substitute; see Ingredients, page 36 
• 5 stems for rattan, stripped of thorny outer bark and the creamy inner core cut into 5 cm (2 in) pieces (or use a banana flower or a drained 400 g jar of preserved rattan. Taste and, if necessary, rinse and steam the preserved rattan to  soften and remove the bitter flavour.) 
• 8–10 for small apple eggplants; if large, cut crosswise partially through the top 
• 1-2 for chillies to taste (Aim for a mellow, spicy flavour where all the ingredients meld together. Mai sakahn has a hot peppery, chilli flavour itself, so increase the number of chillies, if not using mai sakahn, to 5 and add 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns to keep the flavour balanced.)
• 750 g (1½ lb) for duck pieces, including the head and feet (optional; flavour will not be affected) 
• 2 t salt 
• One 25 cm (10 in)  bowl for mixed greens, washed and drained and torn or cut into pieces no bigger than 10 cm (4 in). Use pumpkin leaves (or squash or courgette [zucchini] tendrils or other leafy green), dill, holy basil, sawtooth herb and yard-long beans (or French beans), cut into 5 cm (2 in) pieces.

Method 
1. Boil the dried buffalo skin hide in the water for 1 – 2  hours until softened. (The consistency will be like a very firm Turkish delight.) 
2. Add the chopped mai sakahn and rattan pieces to the simmering liquid, and then add the eggplants and chillies. 
3. Remove the duck fat from the carcass. Cut the fat into small pieces for use in the dish or discard. Chop the duck into approximately 4 cm (1½ in) pieces, including the bone. If using the full carcass, page 65 describes how to prepare it for soup. 
4. Add the duck pieces and salt to the stew.  Simmer for a total of 30 – 40 minutes, depending on the meat’s tenderness. In the meantime, when the eggplants are very soft, remove them from the stew and pound to a pulp in a pestle and mortar (or use a food processor or potato masher). Return the pulp to the stew and stir in. Taste and add more salt if needed. Ten minutes from the end of cooking, add the prepared mixed greens and stir in to allow the flavours to mingle. 
5. Transfer to two serving bowls, each enough for four people, and serve as part of a Lao meal. The dish is also suitable as a one-dish meal served with sticky or plain rice.

Most of information come from Food from Northern Laos (The Boat Landing Cook book)

Video by: Simply Katie