Khao Dok Rai: A Menu of Love

The dish of unity is also known as "Khao Ra Mai"

Have you ever felt a little more love for the person across from you after sharing a meal?

What if we told you there’s a dish that can actually make people grow closer—would you be interested?

This dish doesn’t call for rare ingredients, nor does it require complicated cooking methods.

In fact, it only uses seven simple ingredients, and the method is just pounding, mixing, tossing, and folding.

But what makes it truly special is the “heart” of the people who make it—

💛 The heart of generosity and togetherness as a family and a community

💛 The heart of love for local ingredients and the unique traditions of the village

That’s why this dish can only be found—and truly enjoyed—in one place in the world:

Sakom Subdistrict, Chana District, Songkhla Province.



🍚 Khao Dok Rai — or in another name, Khao Rahmai, meaning “joyfully made together”

This is the signature dish of the Sakom community, a village with its own dialect and a vibrant blend of Thai-Buddhist, Thai-Chinese, and Thai-Muslim cultures.

Born from local wisdom, Khao Dok Rai began as a way to save leftover rice from going to waste. Instead of discarding it, villagers mixed it with simple herbs and condiments found in every household, then added freshly caught fish from the abundant seas of Chana. The result? A dish that is humble yet irresistibly delicious.

But what truly sets Khao Dok Rai apart—what makes it taste like nowhere else—is not only the freshness of the ingredients. It’s the warm bonds and relationships that get folded into every bite.

A Dish of Unity

Khao Dok Rai is not just food from Sakom, it is food of Sakom.

When it’s prepared, neighbors gather, bringing whatever ingredients they have to share. Families often cook it together, and even disputes within the community can find resolution over this dish.

Because it’s so simple to make, everyone can join in—pounding and mixing the ingredients in a traditional Sakom mortar, which serves as chopping board, pestle, and serving dish all in one. Once ready, the meal is shared right there in a circle: eating, laughing, reconciling.

You might even call it “Rice of Unity.”



Unity in the family.

Unity in the community.

And unity in the larger network of “Sarong Warriors”—women environmental defenders fighting to protect their home from being turned into an industrial estate.

For them, this struggle is not just about the sea.

It is about preserving their land, their way of life, and their culture so that it may live on for future generations.

Khao Dok Rai is more than just food to fill the belly.

It is a symbol of reconciliation, a heritage of the community, and something deeply worth protecting.

🙋 Have you ever tasted #KhaoDokRai? Tell us your story!

📺 Watch the documentary “Sarong Warrior: Roen, Lay, and Saengtuhwan” now on www.VIPA.me and the VIPA Application

👉 Or click here: https://watch.vipa.me/dO2x2BCRhVb 🧡

About Author

Oakland Krist

a pop culturist who breathes it like air | a storyteller with pretty much still in the making | a little poetic but absurd at the same time