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eat in, eat out Plaza Khao Gaeng

This canteen in London's newest food hall shares four recipes to capture the flavours of southern Thailand

Recipes LUKE FARRELL Photographs DAVID COTSWORTH

It's the details that help make Luke Farrell's Thai joint on the mezzanine floor of Arcade Food Hall feel like the real deal, amplifying the dishes which balance the right intensity of heat, freshness or sweetness. Oxford Street, cleverly screened off by shutters, seems a millions miles away. The menu is meant for sharing. Khao gaeng roughly means 'curry over rice' and rice is needed, both for the aromatic curries, including an orange curry of mussels and squid with sour garcinia, and astonishingly hot dry-fried klua kling muu (pork with chillies, pepper and galangal). Drinks include cocktails and an excellent selection of soft drinks, from cucumber, thai basil and green mango soda to coffees sweetened with condensed milk. Farrell spent 15 years in Southeast Asia, working in kitchens and learning his craft. Fresh produce is grown by him in a greenhouse in Dorset, making it as aromatic as can be. plazakhaogaeng.com

MENU DECODER:

Coriander root

Literally the root of the coriander plant, the roots are a key component in many curry pastes. They have a deep coriander flavour and show the resourcefulness of Thai cooking.

Palm sugar

This is sugar made from the sap of palm trees - it is then cooked down until it caramelises.

Bai cha pluu

A Thai herb/vegetable similar to betel leaves. It can be used as a wrapper for fillings or stirred into curries.

Shrimp paste

Tiny shrimp are packed together with salt to ferment, leaving a thick, sweet and salty, umami-packed paste.