Khao Mok Neua (Beef Biryani)

Biryani may not immediately come to mind when you think of Thai food but Khao Mok is an incredibly popular Southern Thai dish. It borrows a lot of flavours and it’s cooking style from Malaysia and Indian food and is popular in the south where the population is majority Muslim unlike central and northern areas of Thailand that have largely Buddhist populations. It does have a lot of similarities with Indian biryani’s but also has some classic Thai ingredients that makes it stand out as being quite different. Beef isn’t particularly common in Thailand and is considered by some to be of poorer quality compared to other meats but as this is a slower cooked dish and has been pre marinated, it becomes tender. Chicken is probably used more often for Khao Mok (Khao Mok Gai). 

For 3 big/ 4 small portions, use:

• 300g of beef (I used shin but feel free to use whatever cut you like), trimmed and cut into chunky cubes


• a  handful of coriander, finely chopped


• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


• a thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped


• a big piece of fresh tumeric, finely chopped (morrisons sell it) or 1 teaspoon dried


• a big splash of fish sauce


• a big of salt

Mix all these ingredients up in a bowl. Leave them for a minimum of 1 hr, up to overnight if you have the time.

While marinating, make the dipping sauce. Use a small food processor, pestle and mortar or your chopping skills and mix together:

• 3 or 4 red or green chillies


• a handful of fresh mint leaves


• a handful of fresh coriander


• a small piece of galangal/ ginger or a mixture


• a big pinch of sugar


• a splash of vinegar (malt or white)

Set it aside for serving with the biryani at the end

Now to make the biryani. Use:

• 1.5 cups of white rice


• 2-2.5 cups of chicken stock


• about 20 Thai shallots or 1 red onion, finely sliced


• 1 chopped tomato


• a few cardamom pods


• a few bay leaves


• a few cinnamon sticks


• a big pinch of black pepper


• oil for frying

Heat oil in a pan, fry the onion/shallots until they have browned (about 5-10 mins). Add in the spices and fry for a minute or so. Add in the tomato, fry again for another minute. Now add the meat and all it’s paste. Fry well for about 5 minutes until it has some colour. Add in the dry rice next and fry this in the oils for a couple of minutes before adding 2 cups of stock (keep the other half cup on hand if it dries out too much). Give everything a good stir and pop on a lid. Let the whole thing cook on low for about half an hour, keeping an eye on the rice to make sure it hasn’t dried out too much. Add a bit more stock if it needs it.

Finally, turn off the heat and let the biryani rest and steam for it a bit. When you spoon it out don’t forget to get a few of the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Serve it with the minty dip, some cucumber slices and  a sprinkle of coriander over the whole thing.