Most individuals who go to Bangkok, the place I’ve lived for greater than 20 years, make a beeline for the pad Thai. And understandably so. The dish has strong links to Thailand’s bustling capital city, and it’s undeniably scrumptious. However when I’ve buddies or household visiting, I desire to steer them within the route of a lesser-known native specialty: khao khluk kapi.
Whereas pad Thai was invented in Thailand, it has palpable Chinese language influences; khao khluk kapi, then again, may very well be thought of much more consultant of Thai delicacies. For starters, it’s primarily based across the Southeast Asian nation’s staple carb: rice. The lengthy grains are seasoned and topped with indigenous elements that talk to the area’s vivid and various flavors, aromas, and textures, from candy braised pork to tart inexperienced mango to bracing uncooked shallot to crispy dried shrimp.
To supply them a very particular model of the dish, I wish to carry guests to eat khao khluk kapi on the distinctive Baan Varnakovida. Housed in a 130-year-old mansion in Ko Ratanakosin—one in all Bangkok’s oldest districts—few culinary experiences are extra emblematic of the town.
The restaurant is run by cook dinner and proprietor Apavinee Indaransi, who goes by the identify of Taew. Taew grew up within the crumbling, nearly fairytale-like home, as did her mother and father and their mother and father earlier than them. She and her aunt, who handed away final yr on the age of 97, ran a catering enterprise out of the home, and a decade or so in the past, succumbing to well-liked demand, the pair determined to arrange a number of tables on the balcony and in the lounge to accommodate diners. Taew did little or no else to make her house extra “restaurant-like,” and whereas perusing the transient menu of old-school Bangkok-style dishes among the many household pictures, vintage furnishings, and knick-knacks, it’s inconceivable to neglect that you just actually are eating in anyone’s house.
“The recipe comes from my aunt,” she tells me, after I ask in regards to the origins of her khao khluk kapi. “It’s an previous Thai recipe. There are such a lot of steps to creating it. Again then, individuals had a number of time! And so they had been very meticulous about cooking.”
Certainly, this dish brings collectively a number of components, a few of which contain the easy preparation of uncooked fruit or greens, whereas others are extra nuanced. Under are a very powerful elements to contemplate when making khao khluk kapi at house.
The Rice
Rice is the spine of this dish, and whereas cooking it could appear easy, profitable Thai-style rice hinges on a number of necessary components.
First, the grains themselves: Search out the very best high quality long-grain Thai rice you may get your arms on. Usually, the luxe and aromatic “jasmine” selection is the one possibility obtainable outdoors of Thailand, and that’s superb.
The second necessary aspect in cooking rice is hydration. Should you’re shopping for rice outdoors of Thailand, you most likely solely have entry to “previous” rice, that’s, rice that will have been harvested a number of years in the past. These grains include much less moisture, which implies you’ll need to compensate by including a number of water. For this “previous” rice, you’re most definitely going to wish to begin at a 1:1 ratio of rice and water, maybe boosting to as a lot as 1:1½. Experiment, noting the actual rice you’ve entry to, and tweak your ratio from there.
The third issue to contemplate is your cooking vessel. For this recipe, I’ve prompt cooking the rice in a small pot, however in case you plan to cook dinner rice often, contemplate investing in an electrical rice cooker. Practically each household in Bangkok makes use of one, and justifiably: these home equipment work very well, each single time. No ready for that preliminary boil or fidgeting with timers; merely push a button and let the machine do all of the work whilst you put together the remainder of your meal.
The Funk
The total identify of the dish, khao khluk kapi, could be translated as “rice tossed with shrimp paste.” The eponymous kapi will not be solely a headlining ingredient, it’s additionally an necessary staple within the central Thai kitchen. Regardless of its frequent English translation, kapi is historically not created from shrimp in any respect, however fairly from krill, tiny crustaceans which might be dried, fermented, and pounded to a pungent, salty combination. It’s often integrated into spice and herb pastes—the muse of Thai-style curries and different dishes—to offer each physique and an unmistakable savoriness, and is usually used as a seasoning in quite a lot of different regional dishes.
“Elsewhere, when making khao khluk kapi, individuals simply fry the rice with plain shrimp paste,” Taew tells me, “however right here, we cook dinner the kapi with garlic and minced pork, making it richer and extra aromatic, and protecting up any disagreeable aromas.”
Taew begins by frying minced garlic in lard till golden, earlier than including the pork and a high-quality shrimp paste from the Gulf of Thailand. She then provides water and simmers the combination all the way down to the consistency of a thick sauce. It ought to style only a bit brackish—“however not an excessive amount of,” she cautions, explaining that the dish’s different intensely flavorful accompaniments serve to counter the ingredient’s attribute saline funk.
The Meat
Whereas the seasoned rice types the spine of khao khluk kapi, it’s no exaggeration to say that the aspect of the dish most diners stay up for is the muu waan—actually “candy pork.” To arrange this element, Taew kilos cilantro roots and garlic to a pulp, then fries them in lard till aromatic. She then provides a beneficiant scoop of coconut palm sugar. “You need the sugar to burn,” she explains. “It’s a bit like a caramel.”
Cubes of fatty pork collar go in subsequent, together with Thai black soy sauce and water; then, the combination is left to simmer till the pork is meltingly tender, its cooking liquid decreased to wealthy and syrupy sauce. Whereas the candy pork is effervescent, Taew explains that the meat could be ready properly forward of time, including, “it’s even tastier in case you make it prematurely and depart it in a single day.”
The Garnishes
As a result of cooks in Bangkok and elsewhere in central Thailand typically attempt to incorporate quite a lot of flavors, textures, aromas, and colours in a single dish, khao khluk kapi doesn’t finish at savory rice and a candy braised pork. Moderately, Taew and different cooks in Thailand serve the dish with an assortment of toppings together with punchy uncooked shallots; comfortable and sunny strips of omelet; crunchy fried dried shrimp; contemporary chiles; lime juice; and tangy inexperienced mango.
“You need to use tart mangoes,” Taew explains, calling my consideration to the unripe fruit. “They add a bitter taste to the dish.” She’s additionally explicit about how she cuts this explicit ingredient, utilizing a way borrowed from papaya salad distributors: After peeling a mango, she makes a sequence of shallow, lengthwise incisions together with her knife, then shaves down alongside the floor of the crunchy fruit, leading to skinny, irregular strands. This step requires explicit precision, and a pointy knife. “Some individuals use a device to grate the mangoes,” she explains, “nevertheless it comes out too lengthy, too thick. I desire to do it by hand.”
Recipe
Khao Khluk Kapi (Bangkok Rice with Shrimp Paste and Sweet Pork)
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