Khao Phat Gui Kai Dao

Khao Phat Gui Kai Dao

The perfect fried egg

Thai fried rice, a staple to their diet and a staple to mine. No, Thai fried rice is not what you think it is. It’s not like the fried rice you get down the street from the American Chinese restaurant that you frequent at least once a week. This fried rice, Khao Phat Gui (ข้าวผัด), is different. It’s actually good, flavorful and doesn’t just taste like rice with a few veggies thrown in it. Why is it so good you ask!? Well it’s the fish sauce of course, Thai’s main form of salt. You start with some perfectly made rice, nice and tough to the bite and fry it up with some fish sauce, oyster sauce and a little sesame oil. They add chicken (or whatever kind of protein you want), and some veggies. One of the Thai’s favorite veggie is morning glory, which can be compared to a green bean but much more crunchy. This whole dish is fried up in a wok to a perfect slight crunch then served with cucumber, lime and a whole green onion that you are supposed to dip in the spicy fish sauce, pepper mixture on every table. Throw a perfectly fried egg on top to make it super Thai and to give it an extra punch of protein and you've got a great meal. This is perfect rice and with a little spicy sauce on top your set to go to enjoy a great mixture of sweet, spicy and sour. The main tastes of Thailand.

Khao Prao Muu

Yum!

This is the king of all Thai food, or at least in my opinion. It is one of the most popular of the street foods in Thailand. You’ll see Thai’s eating this all the time and for good reason. Khao Prao Muu, or pork with holy basil (ข้าวผัดกะเพราหมูสับ) is ubiquitous with Thai food. I eat this at least three times a week and enjoy the heck out of it three times a week. This dish is spicy, sweet, salty and brought together by the staple of Thai meat, pork. It is basically a stir-fry of pork with basil and small birds eye chilies served over a bed of fresh rice.  In the stir-fry they use oyster sauce, fish sauce and of course some soy sauce for good measure. I love this dish so much because I can always count on it to be good. Everywhere I go it is pretty much the same thing. It’s so simple and fills me up the right way. A week without Khao Prao Muu would be like a week without me living in Thailand, and that would be terribly sad.