The only way to describe this recipe is to make it and try it yourself  the Khai Pa Loor Recipe is below

One thing you may already know about cinnamon is that its good for you, but did you know there is a mythological creature called the Cinnamon Bird? Or so I heard!!

Here are some interesting facts and trivia about this extraordinary spice.

There was an ancient belief in something called the Cinnamon Bird that supposedly lived in Arabia and used cinnamon to build its nests. Herodotus wrote that these birds flew to an unknown land to collect the cinnamon and took it back with them to Arabia. The Arabians got the cinnamon from the birds by tempting them with large chunks of raw meat. The birds took the heavy pieces of meat back to their nests, which caused the nests to fall and the cinnamon to rain down and be collected by the people.

Pliny the Elder wrote that the Cinnamon Bird did not exist and was a tale invented to raise the price of cinnamon.  Probably true!

Pliny also wrote that 350 grams of cinnamon were equal in value to five kilograms of silver.

The spice was also valued for its preservative qualities for meat due to the phenols which inhibit the the bacteria responsible for spoilage, with the added bonus being the strong cinnamon aroma masked the stench of aged meats.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a tree belonging to the Lauraceae family. The bark of the tree is what is used as a spice.

True cinnamon, or Ceylon cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon).

Cassia, a related spice, is sometimes sold as cinnamon but it is not “true cinnamon.” Cassia is sometimes called “Indonesian cinnamon” or “Chinese cinnamon.” In fact, most powdered cinnamon sold in the United States is actually cassia. It is harder to find true Ceylon cinnamon.

Cinnamon gets is scent and flavour from a chemical compound called cinnamaldehyde.

The word cinnamon comes from the Greek kinnamomon.

Cinnamon is mentioned in Chinese writings as far back as 2800 BC.

In the book of Exodus, God instructs Moses to make a holy anointing oil out of cinnamon, cassia, olive oil, myrrh, and hemp. (Exodus 30: 22-33).

In the 17th century, the Dutch seized the world’s largest cinnamon supplier, the island of Ceylon, from the Portuguese, demanding outrageous quotas from the poor laboring Chalia caste. When the Dutch learned of a source of cinnamon along the coast of India, they bribed and threatened the local king to destroy it all, thus preserving their monopoly on the prized spice.

In 1795, England seized Ceylon from the French, who had acquired it from their victory over Holland during the Revolutionary Wars. (In the Victorian language of flowers, cinnamon means “my fortune is yours.”)

However, by 1833, the downfall of the cinnamon monopoly had begun when other countries found it could be easily grown in such areas as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Mauritius, Réunion and Guyana. Cinnamon is now also grown in South America, the West Indies, and other tropical climates.

In Ancient Egypt, cinnamon was used in the embalming process.

The Egyptians also used cinnamon medicinally and as a flavouring in food and beverages.

Cinnamon was used on funeral pyres in Ancient Rome. In 65 AD, Nero burned a year’s supply of cinnamon at his second wife Poppaea Sabina’s funeral in order to show the depth of his grief or was it guilt for murdering her.  Stories vary!!

Medieval physicians used cinnamon in medicines to treat coughing, hoarseness and sore throats.

In the Middle Ages, cinnamon was only affordable by the wealthy elite of society. A person’s social rank could be determined by the number of spices they could afford.

Cinnamon has many health benefits. It has shown promise in the treatment of diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, memory function, and even leukemia and lymphoma.

Two teaspoons of cinnamon has about 12 calories

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Warmest Regards
Jules and ‘er Ladyship

Click here for The Khai Pa Lor Recipe full version

Below is a basic, abbreviated version of the recipe together with this tiddly video trailer

Cinnamon Eggs Recipe
With Pork (Kai Pa Lor Moo)

Ingredients:
Menu for 6-8 portions
12 Eggs
1.5 Kilos Pork Shoulder
6-8 Coriander Roots
6-8 Garlic Cloves
1 tbs Ground Cinnamon + 2 sticks
4 Chunks Mature Galangal
1/2 cup Palm Sugar
1 tbs Chicken Stock Powder
3 tbs Thai Seasoning Sauce
3 tbs Sweet Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbs Oil
1 tbs Salt
2-3 ltrs Water (4-6 pints)

You will need a very large wok and a large cook pot

Preparation:
Hard boil the eggs and leave to go fully cold
Finely chop the Garlic
Wash Coriander roots
Cut Galangal into chunks as per photo

Cooking:
Starting with a hot wok add the oil and then the garlic stirring until golden brown
Now add the Coriander roots, Galangal and Cinnamon sticks stirring briefly and push to one side before adding the Palm sugar to the clear half of the wok
Stir until a brown syrupy texture forms and then sprinkle in the ground Cinnamon, stir it into the syrup
Next comes Seasoning sauce, Chicken stock and Salt and stir everything in the wok all together
Next comes the pork, and stir and turn in the mix until coated then add the sweet dark Soy Sauce and continue turning until all is coated
Now add the eggs end gently turn to coat the eggs in the sauce also about 2 minutes
Now moving to the large cook pot 1/2 filled with 2 ltrs of boiling water add everything from the wok cover with a lid and bring to boil
When boiling allow the lid to vent, leave to boil for 1 hour or more and expect it to reduce by about 30% check and stir periodically
When meat is tender remove from heat and serve

Serving Suggestions:
Depending on your preference, you may wish to cut up the meat and or remove bones an skin before serving.   Thai traditional style is to serve it with bones and skin included.  Serve with Jasmine rice of course,  this dish is a great accompaniment to so many Thai recipes, but because of its sweet flavours is best served with curries and spicy dishes in general.  As part of a main meal it would be served in a central bowl for all to share.  Try our Pork Red Curry Recipe or maybe something rich and spicy like Dry Chicken Red Curry Recipe (it’s not dry like the name implies, it means no oil or milk is used in cooking) or perhaps a Ginger Chicken Stir Fry