Khao Moo Daeng — Red Pork on Rice / ข้าวหมูแดง

Central Thai (Chinese-Thai) — the Teochew and Cantonese Chinese communities established the roast meat shop tradition in Bangkok; khao moo daeng is a direct import from Cantonese char siu culture

Khao moo daeng is a complete one-plate meal — Chinese-style red-roasted pork (moo daeng), crispy pork belly (moo krob), and poached or braised chicken served on jasmine rice with a sweet gravy (nam chup) and cucumber. The pork is marinated in five-spice, red fermented tofu (tao huu yi), light soy, oyster sauce, and sugar, then roasted until the surface is caramelised and red-lacquered. This is one of the most clearly Chinese-origin dishes in the Thai canon — the five-spice roasting is directly Cantonese, the red fermented tofu is Fujian Chinese, and the sweet gravy is a Thai adaptation. It is sold at Chinese-Thai roast meat shops (shops displaying hanging roasted meats).

Khao moo daeng is one of the clearest demonstrations of the Chinese culinary influence on Thai food — the five-spice roasting, the red fermented tofu colour, and the sweet gravy are all Chinese techniques absorbed into the Thai food landscape.