Instructions: Khao tom is a staple in Thailand, being widely eaten as a breakfast dish, as well as an accompaniment to lunch and dinner.

It can be cooked plain (without the shrimp), or as here with shrimp. It can also be made by simple substitution with chicken, pork, or any combination of seafood that you have to hand.

It can be made with cooked left over chicken/shrimp etc, or as here with fresh ingredients. It is however almost always made from pre-cooked rice

(though not always left-overs: the cook will often simply ladle enough rice

Made with chicken it is a popular meal for recovering patients who still feel a little queasy.

it is one of the best cures I know for the fire of an over hot chili dish!

In Thailand the rice is almost always cooked until it starts to "fall" and the liquor turns milky. When my wife worked as the chef at the Bangkok Oriental Cuisine in Merrimack, New Hampshire, they found that the customers preferred it with the rice less cooked. If you also want the rice to stay

"intact", then limit the heating before adding the shrimp to 2 or 3 minutes, which is enough to ensure that it is heated through ready to eat.

Maggi seasoning, also known as Maggi sauce, is a dark - almost black - seasoning sauce, made by the Maggi company of Switzerland, and widely used in Asian cooking. It should be available from asian supermarkets in case of difficulty. If it cant be found at all, then mix a little Worcestershire sauce with an equal volume of dark soy sauce. The taste isnt quite the same, but it will do.

The celery used in Thailand is Chinese Celery (the plant of which celeriac is the root ball). If this isnt available you can use "western" celery.

Cooks in Thailand make this in a wok - but Im not convinced that it is entirely safe to balance this much fluid in a round bottom wok on a skimpy western stove-hob. So perhaps for safety you should use a large saucepan.

Method: In a very small amount of oil sautee the garlic until golden brown and beginning to crisp up, then pour in the water, and bring to the boil, next add the celery, Maggi sauce, and fish sauce and pepper, and stir until it boils again. Now add the rice and return to the boil, continuing to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice begins to "fall" and the water turns a milky white (note comment above).

Now add the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink.

Transfer to a serving dish, and garnish with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves.

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