Khao Mun Gai is rice cooked with garlic, boiled chicken, and chicken broth, served with sauce Cocol. Let’s start with the main ingredient of many-a-plate of Thai food. Rice. Most Thai dishes will use some form of steamed or boiled white rice as their foundation, and khao mun gai is no exception. Well, except for the fact that it’s not just plain old white rice. This rice is actually cooked in chicken stock, and usually has a bit of crushed garlic, ginger, and some bruised cilantro tossed in as well. This gives the white rice a sort of dingy beige color, but the flavor benefits are absolutely wonderful. I really don’t know how to describe it to you, other than to tell you to just give it a try for yourself. It’s just good.
Next, we’ve got the protein – steamed chicken (sometimes switched out with duck, if the vendor is running low… tastes just as great). Several slices of meat are placed on top of the rice, then garnished with a few sprigs of cilantro. I absolutely love cilantro, and the fact that it is used so often in Thai cuisine is yet another reason why I enjoy eating in this country. There’s just something about taking a bite of the savory rice, tender chicken, and a leaf of pungent cilantro (or coriander for my friends outside the USA) all at the same time that’s magical. Yes, I said this food is magical. Laugh if you want, but you’ll believe me when you try it for yourself.
Now, the sauce. Oh, the sauce. As I list the following ingredients, I can already see some of your noses turning up, but again, I ask you to trust me. These things are magical, too. (Go ahead and roll your eyes.) The slightly sweet, slightly sour, little bit spicy sauce that’s a little bit liquid and a little bit chunks is what really brings everything together. So, what are the scary things it’s made of – both dark and white soy sauce, some white vinegar, a few Thai bird chilies, garlic, and ginger all crunched up, a bit of sugar and… fermented soybeans. Some of you cringe at the mention of soybeans already, let alone tagging the word fermented onto it. The sauce is served in a small bowl to the side of the plate, allowing the diner to either dump the whole thing straight onto their meal and redistribute it with a fork (which is my preferred method), or simply dip pieces of meat into it while eating.
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