Khao gaeng does not literally mean rice with curry on top.
You are free to have rice with spicy stir-fried catfish; steamed mackerel salad; sheath fish fried with pepper and garlic; and yet all of these are called khao gaeng. And raan khao gaeng means a food shop or vendor offering choices of ready-made dishes.
Khao gaeng shops are commonly found around town, especially in department store foodcourts, busy business districts crowded with office workers, residential areas or near wet markets. There are many types of stores. Some provide dine-in service while some only offer takeaway. Khao gaeng is probably the largest and strongest business sector in the Kingdom. During the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year, all businesses including restaurants were disrupted. Only khao gaeng stores offering takeout food survived and have bright prospects, especially those located in areas full of office workers and salarymen whose incomes are affected by the pandemic and need to be careful about spending. The only challenge for raan khao gaeng is to maintain cooking standards and food taste.
Raan khao gaeng's evolution is legendary. Back in the early days of office working in Thai society, most officials still relied on home-cooked meals prepared for them by the housewife or senior member of the house.
Restaurants were set up initially to alleviate the burden of household cooks (housewife or grandparents) and offer them a chance to try out more varieties of dishes prepared by others. The restaurants started out by offering take-home foods only. There was neither table nor chair in the shop as it had no dine-in services.
Later, khao gaeng shops welcomed customers to eat in as well as provide delivery of food in tiffin containers to households on a monthly basis. Many famous eateries such as S. Yingthai, Phochanaprapkarn and Chotechit located around the Si Kak Phraya Sri Intersection near the Ministry of Interior opened for lunch to serve office workers and senior government officials.
Since then, khao gaeng shops have become more widely popular. Most stores are located in front of wet markets or busy workplaces and open from early morning until noon to serve both breakfast and lunch. For dinner, a lot of customers prefer to take home. This shows how firmly khao gaeng is integrated into people's daily life. Some 25 years ago, a visionary businessman set an eye on the khao gaeng business. He established a shop near Pratunam which was the busiest place in Bangkok at that time. The shop was air conditioned and foods were displayed in glass cabinets. The dishes were kept heated at all times. The atmosphere, tables and chairs were luxurious while kitchen utensils were identical to those used in first-class hotels. Unfortunately, this futuristic concept failed. It was too good and way too advanced. Customers preferred easy ambience, simplicity and most importantly reasonable pricing.
Nowadays khao gaeng has become a staple food for city dwellers regardless of their housing type -- be it single house, high-rise or low-rise condominium with breath-taking views or near expressways. Khao gaeng has become one of city life's essentials and a top choice for new generations for its convenience, ample choice of dishes and highly affordable prices.
Although it is a bit speculative, it is possible to conclude that khao gaeng fits well with present Thai lifestyles. One khao gaeng vendor said her business during the outbreak outperformed normal periods. She cooked more than 10 dishes at home and packed them in plastic bags for sale. The food was sold out in less than an hour. Normally, the dishes are put in 10 big pots for the customer to choose from and the vendor packs the food in plastic bags one by one according to the customer's order, a time-consuming process in which it normally takes over five hours to sell everything.
There is an insatiable demand for khao gaeng in housing estates. The households that cook for their members could face various complications depending on family size. If it is a family of two, a couple of dishes should be just fine. But for large families, more dishes are necessary. And going to a supermarket to shop for ingredients, then the preparation and cooking, could also be an issue.
Interestingly, a new phenomenon occurred during the lockdown period. Some households have became khao gaeng vendors by chance. It started with each family making only one dish it is very good at. When all were combined it became a community's raan khao gaeng which offered a good variety of choices. Some cooked Chinese, some made southern style curry while others prepared central or northeastern dishes. This became a friendly and joyous khao gaeng store.
Khao gaeng has so far fit in well with social circumstances and the context of Thai society. And it is most likely to remain so in the future.
