Kai Kra-Prao with Rice from Thailand | Whole Life Times — Los Angeles Holistic Health Magazine

Going with the grain

By Elyse Glickman

During Songkran, the Thai New Year (April 13–15), food plays a major role in the festivities, particularly dishes built around Thai hom mali rice, which we TangRiceVarieties lo res know as jasmine rice. Thailand’s prime cash crop, in a country that produces an estimated 19,000 varieties of rice, brings not only flavor and substance to dishes you can prepare at home, but also a nutritional boost.

White jasmine rice is a good source of niacin, thiamine, iron, selenium, and vitamins B1 and D. However, the darker the rice, the more benefits you get, with higher concentrations of vitamin E, B6, magnesium, iron, thiamin and other nutrients. Whole grains also have insoluble fiber, aiding digestion by helping flush food quickly through the digestive system. Additionally, vitamins and minerals in jasmine rice may help prevent certain cancers.

Beyond that, if you have not gotten to your (Western) New Year’s resolution of losing weight, Songkran gives you a fresh opportunity.

“Thai people do not ‘go on a diet’ the way Western people do around the New Year,” notes Chantira J. Vivatrat, former executive director of the Thai Trade Center in Los Angeles. “There is little need to diet, as most Thai dishes are low fat but highly nutritious. Many Thais are height/weight proportionate, particularly when compared to people who consume diets of processed and artificial foods.”

LA-born, Las Vegas-based chef Jet Tila recommends hom mali rice not only for traditional Thai favorites, but also for rice-based dishes from other culinary traditions. He notes it works beautifully for pilafs, puddings, dressing, stuffing, and even as a cream replacement to thicken soup.

“With fresh herbs, vegetables and spices, such as turmeric and basil, replacing the use of excess salt, starch and fat, Thai food allows one to get flavor and nutritional balance on the same plate,” notes Tila, a recent contender on Iron Chef America. “I tell people preparing it at home to remember the “yum” (indicative of the spicy/sour flavor profile found on many Thai restaurant menu items), as the flavor profiles are a balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet. When you use core ingredients such as brown hom mali rice, fish sauce, Thai chili, lime juice and judicious touches of sugar, you will find the yum as well as the yummy in Thai dishes.”

Kai Kra-Prao

8 tbsp olive oil

4 whole eggs

4 tbsp chopped garlic

8 whole smashed fresh kee noo chilis

12 oz minced chicken breast

12 oz finely minced shrimp

2 c thinly sliced browned onions

1 c sliced red bell peppers

3 tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 tbsp sweet black bean sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 ¼ c lemongrass stock

1 c Thai basil leaves

6 c Thai hom mali rice (white or brown)

Place oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Crack 1 egg into hot oil and fry until egg turns crispy and egg yolk turns solid. Repeat with remaining eggs. Removed cooked eggs to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess grease, and set aside.

With the same skillet, turn heat to high and add garlic and chili and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions, bell peppers, fish sauce, sweet black bean sauce, vinegar and sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add lemongrass stock (see below) and basil, and mix thoroughly. Remove and pour over steamy hom mali rice, and place fried eggs on top.

Thai Risotto

¼ c olive oil

1 tbs panang curry paste

1 tbs chopped garlic

1¼ c hom mali rice, rinsed and drained

2 tbs Thai fish sauce

1 tsp honey

½ c diced sweet red peppers

1 c diced tomato

1½ c diced oyster, shiitake, portobello or white mushrooms

2 tbs pine nuts, toasted

1 tbs diced mozzarella cheese

½ c half-and-half or evaporated skim milk

2 tsp thin-sliced kaffir lime leaves

4 sprigs of basil

1 can coconut milk

Place water, lemongrass stock (see below), galangal root, lime leaves, onion, carrot and celery in large stock pot and bring to boil. Cook over medium high heat until stock is reduced to 1 quart and strain.

Combine olive oil, curry paste and garlic in a large skillet and saute over high heat until mixture turns red. Add rice, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add lemongrass stock and simmer 10 minutes, stirring every minute to keep rice from sticking to skillet. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, honey, red pepper, tomato and mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes, stirring every minute. Add pine nuts, mozzarella and half-and-half, and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add lime leaves and ½ cup basil, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Serve in bowls garnished with basil sprigs.

Lemongrass Stock

6 c water

1 stalk lemongrass

4 pieces dried galangal root

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 onion, cut in half

1 large carrot, cut in half

Excerpted from Tommy Tang’s Noodles & Rice and Something Nice (Lotus Press)

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