Khao Klub Gapi ข้าวคลุกกะปิ Rice With Shrimp Paste

A few of my friends have been asking me to start posting Thai recipes and after cooking a lot of food that I didn't grew up with, I thought it might be time to present the aroy maak maak series of Thai food on this blog. This is one of those dishes that you have to grow up with or it might be a little too overwhelming for the first time. It's a stunning looking dish and one of the thai dishes that need to be tasted at least once in your lifetime. The tummies couldn't quite get it but I love it!! They got to taste it once and I felt completely nourished.

There are a fair bit of cutting but next to no cooking at all,.it's salty, sweet, sour, crunchy, spicy and very healthy. You may increase the amount of garlic and decrease the amount of shrimp paste if you are cooking for the first time.

P.S I cooked the rice on my bbq as the aromas of the shrimp paste could linger for days.

serves 4

for the garnish you'll need;

1 green mango, shredded

3 eggs, made into thin omelet, thinly sliced

4 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 cup of dried shrimp, fried till crispy

lime wedges

10 long beans, thinly sliced

2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced

4 bird chilies, sliced

sweet pork (muu wan)

for the rice you'll need:

4 cups of cold rice

3 cloves of garlic, minced

a small piece of shrimp paste (wrapped in foil, toasted and crushed)

Everything is cut and sliced, now prepare the rice..

Fry garlic and shrimp paste with some oil...

Add rice and stir fry til  every grain of rice is coated with the garlic and shrimp paste mixture..

Arrange garnishes prettily around the moulded rice...

Completely destroy the prettiness and enjoy the fishiness !!!