Khao khluk kapi
Photo: by PoppyW · CC BY-SA 2.0

History

Khao khluk kapi is central-Thai palace cooking from the late 19th century, when Bangkok's royal kitchens codified the dish as a structured assembly of contrasting components on a single plate. Shrimp paste (kapi) from Samut Sakhon and Trat provinces gave the rice its umami backbone. Krua Apsorn (a former royal chef's family-run restaurant on Dinso Road) is the canonical Bangkok address for the dish, and Saneh Jaan in Athenee Tower runs a refined modern version. Supanniga keeps the home-style preparation. The dish is meant to be tossed together at the table.

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Common allergens: Shellfish, Egg, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 300g cooked jasmine rice, cold (day-old works best)
  • 30g Thai shrimp paste (kapi)
  • 30ml neutral oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • For the sweet pork (mu wan): 150g pork loin or shoulder, finely chopped, 30g palm sugar, 15ml fish sauce, 15ml dark soy sauce, 15ml water
  • 2 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
  • 1 small green mango, peeled and shredded
  • 30g dried small shrimp
  • 3 long red and green chillies, sliced
  • 4 shallots, thinly sliced for garnish
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges
  • Coriander, to serve

Method

  1. Make the sweet pork first: combine palm sugar, fish sauce, dark soy and water in a wide pan. Simmer 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Add the chopped pork; cook over medium 15 minutes, stirring, until the pork is sticky, glossy and dark. Set aside.
  2. Make the omelette ribbons: heat a non-stick pan, add a teaspoon of oil, pour the beaten egg in a thin layer, swirl. Cook 60 seconds until set; slide onto a board, roll up tight, slice across into thin ribbons.
  3. Make the shrimp-paste rice: heat the remaining oil in a wok over medium. Add garlic and shallots; cook 30 seconds.
  4. Add the shrimp paste; mash and fry in the oil for 90 seconds until fragrant (open a window; it is pungent).
  5. Add the cold rice; toss to coat every grain in the brown shrimp-paste oil. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up any clumps.
  6. Mound the rice in the centre of each plate. Arrange the sweet pork, omelette ribbons, shredded green mango, dried shrimp, sliced chillies and shallots around the rice in separate piles.
  7. Serve lime wedges and coriander alongside. Each diner squeezes lime and mixes a forkful of every component into each bite.

Tip from the editors. Toast the shrimp paste hard in oil before the rice goes in; the raw funk turns into nutty perfume. Cold day-old rice is essential or the grains clump.

Where to eat khao khluk kapi

Khao khluk kapi in Bangkok

Krua Apsorn Dinso ★ 4.6

฿฿ Thai

Krua Apsorn Dinso is royal-influenced thai room from 2003 in the old town with bib gourmand stir-fries, the local lunch room missed by tour groups.

Why locals goRoyal-influenced Thai room from 2003 in the Old Town with Bib Gourmand stir-fries, the local lunch room missed by tour groups.

TipClosed Sundays. The Dinso original is better than the newer branches. Lunch through 19:30 only, last seating 19:00.

Directions

Supanniga Eating Room Tha Tien ★ 4.6

฿฿฿ Trat and Khon Kaen Heritage ThaiOld Town

Supanniga Eating Room in Bangkok's Tha Tien serves grandmother-recipe Trat and Khon Kaen Thai dishes opposite Wat Pho, with a sister branch on Sukhumvit 55.

OrderThe moo cha muang (pork in cha muang leaf), the yum tomato pomelo salad and a side of khao soi.

TipClosed Mondays for the Tha Tien location. Ask for the second-floor balcony seat overlooking the temple at sunset.

Directions

Saneh Jaan 1 ★ ★ 4.0

฿฿฿฿ Tasting ฿3,500ThaiChef Pilaipon 'Toy' Kamnag

Saneh Jaan in Bangkok's Sindhorn Glasshouse runs royal-influenced central Thai cuisine, one Michelin star, with a smart-casual dining room and Sukhothai-era.

Book2 weeks ahead

TipLunch is the value play with set menus from 850 baht. Reservations on own site; smart casual dress code.

Directions

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