Just One Dish: John Chantarasak

Times

3 days ago

Being awarded a Michelin star is impressive enough. Being awarded one in the first three months of the restaurant opening is almost unfathomable. But, as the chef John Chantarasak has proved, not impossible.Anglothai started off as somewhat of a nomadic restaurant. Having hopped around London — teasing customers with various pop-ups — in the autumn of 2024, the restaurant (owned by Chantarasak and his wife) finally found its ideal home in the heart of Marylebone. According to the Britain-born chef, 'Anglothai is essentially centred around the two sides of my heritage — my father is from Bangkok and my mother is from the UK.'
Chantarasak has made quite the career switch. He started his working life as a musician. He then moved into the finance world. It was in 2013, when he found himself unfulfilled by the corporate hustle, that he loaded up his backpack and went on a journey of self-discovery around America. Quickly realising that his decisions on destinations were boiling down to restaurants to visit or dishes to try, he signed himself up for a culinary course in Bangkok. After various kitchen jobs around Thailand, he made his way back to England, where he got a job at the award-winning Som Saa restaurant. He worked there for five years, before spreading his wings and flying into his Anglothai venture.
Chantarasak is into field-to-fork and nose-to-tail cooking. His culinary body clock follows the seasonal calendar, so often inspiration for his dishes begins with what's growing in Britain at the time. From there he uses Thai recipes and cooking techniques to create a unique fusion food with a minimal-waste mentality.His grandmother, who influenced this seasonality mindset, would often cook quintessentially Thai dishes for the whole family. This prawn rice recipe was one of them. Watch the video to learn how to make it yourself.
Serves 2
• 1 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt, caster sugar and ground white pepper• 1 tbsp garlic, peeled and chopped• 1 tbsp coriander root, cleaned and chopped (or coriander stem)• 1 tbsp Thai bird's eye chillies, chopped• 1/4 tsp salt• 2 tbsp prawn paste (aka shrimp paste)• 2 tbsp palm sugar• 2 tbsp vegetable oil• 400g cooked jasmine rice, cooled to room temperature
1. Smear a shallow nonstick pan with oil and pour in enough of the beaten egg mix to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer. Cook gently and without colour over a medium heat. It should resemble the thickness of a pancake. Turn once and cook on both sides. When set, remove from the pan, repeat this process until all the egg mixture is used. Allow the egg pancakes to cool, then roll into a cigar and slice into ribbons. 2. Pound the garlic, coriander root, chillies and salt into a smooth paste in a pestle and mortar. Add the prawn paste and palm sugar, pound into the paste until smooth. 3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok and fry the paste until fragrant and aromatic. Continue to simmer over a low heat until reduced slightly to a thick paste, about 2 minutes.4. Add the cooked jasmine rice and stir-fry gently with the prawn paste so the rice is evenly coated but the rice grains remain whole. Try not to let too much of the rice catch as it fries. It should taste rich, pungent and well seasoned, but not overly salty. Add more sugar if you feel it's too salty. Cover and allow to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the flavours to develop.5. To serve, divide the prawn paste rice among individual plates, then add a small pile of each of the accompaniments below and season with the lime wedges.
For the Mu waan (sweet pork, to serve as an accompaniment)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce• 1 tsp caster sugar• 350g pork belly (or shoulder/neck)• 5 tbsp (135g) palm sugar• 3 tbsp fish sauce• 2 tbsp water• 1 star anise, toasted• 1 inch cassia bark, toasted
1. Combine the light soy sauce and caster sugar, then massage this all over the pork belly and leave to marinade for 2 hours.2. Steam the pork over a medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool then slice the pork into bite-sized pieces, about 3cm by 1cm.3. In a saucepan melt the palm sugar over a low heat until liquid. Briefly simmer for 2 minutes to darken and caramelise the sugar then add the fish sauce and water. Reduce the heat to very low.4. Add the sliced pork, star anise and cassia bark. Mix everything so the pork is well coated in the caramel. Cover with a cartouche then simmer gently until the caramel is slightly reduced and the pork is shiny, about 10 minutes. Allow the pork to rest in the caramel for a further 10 minutes before warming and serving.
• 1 small Granny Smith apple, cut into matchsticks (placed in water with half the juice of a lime to prevent the apple from browning) • 1 baby cucumber, peeled with seeds removed and chopped • 2 tbsp baby shallot, thinly sliced • 3 lemongrass stalks, root and outer husks removed and thinly sliced • 3 tbsp fine green beans, topped and tailed then cut into 1cm lengths • 3 tbsp radish, chopped • 2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped leaf and stem • 1 tbsp Thai bird's eye chillies, finely sliced • 3 tbsp dried prawns, deep-fried until crispy and drained on absorbent paper • Mu waan (sweet pork, see recipe above) • Egg ribbons (see first step of making the prawn paste rice above) • 1 lime, cut into wedges