Shrimp Paste (Bagoong) Rice

One of our favorite Thai dishes is Shrimp Paste (Bagoong) Rice.  When hubby and I were in Thailand for our honeymoon 8 years ago (back when we were flawless, skinny and acne free!) , we made sure we had the real deal before we flew back home.  Unfortunately, we didn’t know the Thai name for the dish.  It wasn’t until our 6th day in Thailand that we got our eureka moment, the product of meticulously and patiently reading the English description of the various dishes on the menu of each and every restaurant we visited.  Khao Krok Kapi, that’s Thai for Shrimp Paste Rice.

Back in the Philippines, we had the luxury of enjoying this dish in a number of Thai restaurants.  None of the Thai restaurants we’ve visited here in the US serve the dish.  So I just make my own. *wink*

The Shrimp Paste Rice I made several nights ago is slightly different from the ones I made before.  One, I used brown rice.  And two, I substituted shrimp for the pork cooked in shrimp paste.

It’s not very often that I make this dish because of the work needed to put it all together.  The mango is cut into strips.  The egg is cooked and cut into strips.  The shrimps are cooked in shrimp paste.  The (cooked) rice is sauteed in shrimp paste.  But it is worth all the time and effort.

My 5-year old loved this.  It helped, of course, that she loves mangoes. :)  One thing’s for sure though, this dish will not end up in her lunch bag.  Hee hee. :D I posted the procedure for making this dish in one of my entries more than a year ago, which you can find HERE.