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A day or several hours before cooking the dish, heat the shallots and oil in a wok over low heat. The oil should start to simmer lightly after about 5 minutes; after 10 minutes the shallots should start to turn yellow; after 30 minutes the shallots should start to turn brown and fragrant. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are dark brown (but not burnt), fragrant, and starting to crisp, a total of about 40 minutes. Remove the wok from the heat, pour the oil and shallot mixture into a heatproof container, cover, and set aside.
Wash the sticky rice in several changes of water. In a large stainless-steel bowl (the turmeric will stain just about anything else), stir together the sticky rice, at least two times its volume of water, and the turmeric powder. Leave to soak, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for about 12 hours.
A couple hours before serving, steam the sticky rice for 20 minutes, flip the rice, and steam until tender, another 5 to 10 minutes. Return the rice to the stainless-steel bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. While the sticky rice is cooling, heat the coconut cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. When the rice is cool enough to handle, add the coconut mixture and 3 tablespoons of the fried shallots/shallot oil to the reserved rice. Coat your hands with a thin layer of the shallot oil, and knead the rice until the rice has incorporated all of the coconut cream mixture and is relatively smooth and amalgamated. Taste the rice and adjust the seasoning if necessary; it should taste pleasantly oily, slightly sweet, and salty (in that order). Shape the sticky rice into smooth, tightly packed, golf-ball-sized spheres; you should end up with approximately 20 balls. Arrange on a plate or platter, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
With a mortar and pestle, pound and grind the salt, lemongrass, and cilantro root to a coarse paste. Add the coriander seeds; pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the chilies, shallots, and garlic; pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the shrimp paste and tomato; pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the ground pork and turmeric powder; pound and grind until the mixture is smooth and amalgamated. Remove it to a medium bowl, and add the cilantro, green onion, and sawtooth coriander.
Coat your hands with a thin layer of the shallot oil and blend the pork mixture by hand until thoroughly combined. Shape the pork mixture into gumball-sized balls weighing around 2/3 ounce / 20 grams each; you should end up with about 20 meatballs. Arrange the meatballs in the bottom of a medium wok over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the shallot oil and 1/2 cup of water, and cover with the lid. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving only a thin layer of oil, approximately 10 minutes. Fry the meatballs in this oil, stirring occasionally to ensure that they’re cooked on all sides, until brown and fragrant, another 10 minutes. Cool slightly, and remove the meatballs to a serving plate, drizzling them with the pan drippings. When the meatballs have cooled to room temperature, serve an equal number of rice balls and meatballs, drizzled with additional shallot oil and fried shallots, as a Shan meal.
