|
Wattana Panich is a one of the most popular restaurants in Bangkok’s
Ekkamai neighborhood, with hundreds of hungry patrons coming in to feast
on its selection of delicious soups and stews every day. But the secret
of the flavorsome dishes served at this Thai eatery may put a lot of
Westerners off.
One of the most popular dishes at Wattana Panich is the rich beef noodle
soup, made with stewed and raw beef, tripe, meatballs, internal organs
and spices. But the most important ingredient is the broth, which,
believe it or not, has been simmering for 45 years. It sounds strange,
but it’s true. Instead of throwing away the leftover broth every night,
the owners of Wattana Panich carefully strain it and store it to be used
as the base for next day’s batch of soup. They’ve been doing this every
day for over four decades and credit it as the main secret to their
delicious dishes.
|
 |
|
Wattana Panich relies on an old cooking method known as “perpetual stew”
or “hunter’s stew” which basically involves leaving the stew to simmer
constantly while adding new ingredients to it. This ensures that the
broth absorbs as much flavor as possible from the ingredients, making
the dishes it is used for absolutely delicious. The principle is simple
– the longer the broth simmers, the better it becomes – but this Thai
eatery has taken it to the extreme.
According to BK Magazine, the cooks at Wattana Panich cool the leftover
broth every night and store it in the fridge to prevent spoiling. It is
used as the base for the next day’s stew. The cooks add about 25kg of
beef to the stew every day, the flavor of which sips into the
decades-old broth, constantly enhancing its flavor.
Nattapong Kaweenuntawong is the 3rd generation of his family to be
running Wattana Panich, and hopes that his three children will become
the 4th. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, they’ll be using the
same broth – or at least a bit of it – as the day the restaurant opened
in Ekkamai, 45 years ago.
And in case you’re wondering abut that brown hardened shell around the
large metal stew pot, it’s testimony to how long the broth has been used
for. The owners of Wattana Panich have made it tradition not to clean
the 45-years-worth of broth spillover. It’s not the most hygienic piece
of history, but it’s history nonetheless. |