Kapi Khluk — Fermented Shrimp Paste Rice / ข้าวคลุกกะปิ

Ingredients

• 600 g jasmine rice, cooked, kept warm
• 60 g kapi (Thai fermented shrimp paste), wrapped in banana leaf, to be charred over flame
• 2 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp palm sugar, shaved or grated
• For the sweet pork (moo wan)
• 250 g pork, thinly sliced; to be cooked with sweetener until slightly sticky
• For the garnishes
• 60 g dried shrimp (kung haeng), whole or lightly crushed
• 4 eggs, fried kai dao style — hot oil, crispy edges
• 100 g green mango, peeled and julienned
• 60 g shallots, thinly sliced
• 80 g long beans, cut into short lengths, raw
• 8 g bird's eye chilli, fresh, left whole or sliced

Method

1. 1
   Wrap the kapi in a banana leaf parcel and set it directly over a gas flame or hot charcoal, turning, until the exterior of the parcel is fully blackened and a penetrating, roasted-shrimp fragrance — distinct from the raw fermented smell — rises from the leaf, so the heat drives off the harshest ammonia notes and rounds the paste into something deeper and more aromatic. Unwrap and set aside.
2. 2
   Simmer the sliced pork with palm sugar and a small amount of water, stirring continuously so the sugar does not catch and burn before the liquid is absorbed, until the meat is coated in a slightly sticky glaze. The surface should be lightly caramelised and the pieces should cling together loosely; set aside warm.
3. 3
   Turn the warm jasmine rice into a wide pan or wok over low heat and add the toasted kapi in pieces, folding it through the grains so the residual warmth of the rice melts the paste evenly through without further cooking toughening or scorching it. Add the lime juice and palm sugar and continue folding; this is where the dish lives or dies, because under-toasted kapi or cold rice will not integrate, and neither lime nor sugar can correct the result once the rice has cooled. The rice is ready when every grain carries an even, pale-terracotta colour, the salt of the kapi is offset by the acid of the lime and the edge of sweetness from the palm sugar, and no pocket of unmixed paste remains.
4. 4
   Fry each egg in hot oil in the kai dao style, using oil deep enough to allow the edges to blister and frill immediately on contact, so the white sets in ruffled, lace-crisp folds rather than steaming flat. The egg is done when the white is fully set with those frilled edges and the yolk remains liquid at its centre.
5. 5
   Arrange each plate with a mound of kapi rice at the centre, then the moo wan, dried shrimp, fried egg, julienned green mango, sliced shallot, long beans, and fresh bird's eye chilli placed as distinct, separate elements around and over the rice so each component stays visually clear and the diner can taste them in combination as they eat. No garnish is optional — the balance of the full assembly is the dish.