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Mixing Up Naem Khao Toht (Fried Rice Salad with Fermented Pork Skin) on Silom

Bangkok, Thailand – When I was in Laos, there were sweet and spicy dips made with dried chili and bits of water buffalo skin (jaew bong).  Laos and Northeastern Thailand are divided by a border, but many people on either side share an ethnic background and much of the same food (sticky rice, papaya salad, laab or minced meat salad).  In Northeastern Thailand, I found pork skin in all the laabs I had, not necessarily the case in places outside the region.  Another dish that makes use of pork skin, one that you can find in both Northeast Thailand and Laos is naem khao toht or exploded rice ball.  I had it at lunch with a new group of friends in Chiang Khan, but it’s also on many street corners in Bangkok.  Typically you’ll see a basket covered over the front with a plastic sheet and inside a pile of deep-fried rice balls, herbs, roasted peanuts with the skin on and a pile of white half-moon slices that look like they could be onions.  Those white slices are sour, preserved pork skin and they’re smashed with the fried rice ball, mixed with herbs, peanuts and dried chilies, and dressed with lemon juice and fish sauce.  This street snack is salty and sour, crunchy and soft, and light and satisfying.  It’s often served with a pile of herbs for munching on in between bites or lettuce for wrapping.  It’s the perfect mid-afternoon snack on the smoking-hot streets of Bangkok and I quite like it, skin and all.

Boxing Up Naem Khao Toht (Fried Rice Salad with Fermented Pork Skin)