It was midnight before I walked through the door of my parent's house, but I knew it would be hours before my head hit the pillow. Dad had been warning me for days before I arrived. I'd packed my fat jeans in readiness. And then it began.
A plateful of plump Japanese pork dumplings had first billing. They'd been hand-pressed by my mother and pan fried until blotched with patches of golden crispiness. The vinegary dipping sauce dribbled down my chin as I bit into each little puff of pork. Just as I polished off the last of the dumplings a steaming bowl of slow-braised pork belly and rice appeared. And just as I finished off the last spoonfuls of melting pork belly, a large slab of layered blueberry sponge cake appeared as if from nowhere. And just when I thought I couldn't take any more, I heard my mother fire up her hand-held blow torch. We finished the night with creme brulee of course. I went to bed at 3AM.
Every trip home for as long as I can remember begins in this way. Mum starts cooking a week before I arrive. Dad calls each day to give me a running commentary on how many kilos of prawns have been bought and what kind of cakes are being baked. The dishes change every trip but the length and breadth of that first family meal remain roughly the same.
So you'd think my midnight feast would be enough to put me off any kind of breakfast...but the savoury smells of garlic, coriander and simmering rice coming from my mother's kitchen cannot be resisted. I would give up all the pork belly in the world for this one traditional Thai breakfast dish - Kao Tom (pronounced something like cow thom). When I was very young we called it sloppy rice. This Thai rice soup is flavoured with garlic oil, chilli vinegar, ginger, coriander, whatever meat/seafood you wish and a raw egg thrown in for good measure. It is deeply savoury and intensely satisfying. It's traditionally a breakfast dish, but I've been known to make it for lunch, dinner, afternoon tea...whenever the urge takes hold. This is not a dish that graces the menus of Thai restaurants and you certainly won't find it at your local Asian takeaway. It's a dish that speaks of home, of familiar comforts, of mothers who cook too much and daughters who eat too much.
Kao Thom Goong (Sloppy Rice with Prawns)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
400g green (raw) prawns, unpeeled
4 cups cooked white rice
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 red chillies, finely sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (use stems and leaves)
Soy Sauce
Fish Sauce
4 eggs
For the prawn stock: Tear off the prawn heads and peel off the shells. Place heads and shells in a saucepan. Cover with 8 cups of water and simmer for about 20 minutes. While the stock is simmering a pinkish foam will rise to the surface. Skim the foam off as the stock bubbles away. After 20 minutes strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard shells.
For the sloppy rice: Pour the prawn stock into a clean saucepan and throw in the cups of cooked white rice. Add in the chopped ginger and 2 Tbsp each of fish sauce and soy sauce. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes. You want the rice to end up creamy and soupy.
While the rice is cooking, get on with making your condiments...
Throw your garlic into a cold pan and pour over the vegetable oil. Slowly heat the oil and garlic until the garlic is a golden colour, but be careful not to burn it. Pour into a small serving bowl.
Mix sliced chillies and white vinegar in a separate small bowl. Place your chopped coriander in another bowl, ready to sprinkle.
Get out four individual serving bowls and crack a raw egg into each one. Splash over about a tsp each of fish sauce and soy sauce.
Now back to the rice: after simmering for about 30 minutes throw in the raw prawns and cook them in the soup for a couple of minutes or until they turn opaque. Spoon the hot rice soup over the raw eggs in each bowl. Make sure to cover the eggs completely with the rice. Pile the prawns into the centre of each bowl. Anoint liberally with the shards of garlic and oil, chilli vinegar and coriander. Add a dash more fish sauce. Leave the bowls of steaming rice soup to sit for a minute so the eggs have time to cook a little. Lean down and smell all the wonderful garlic and coriander aromas. Then dig in with a spoon, mixing the egg through the soup. Sprinkle in more garlic, chilli, coriander, soy or fish sauce if you wish.
VARIATIONS: Instead of prawns you can use chicken, pork, squid or fish. Just use whatever stock you want and stir through the meat of your choice while the rice is simmering.
