Thai Restaurant Has Been Serving the Same Batch of Soup for 45 Years -

[Desire Lines]

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods...ving-the-same-batch-of-soup-for-45-years.html

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.

Photo: Twitter
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.

 

[melty]

Honestly I think this is pretty cool. I would eat it.

 

[Fek]

Stew on that, soup haters.


That hurt to type. I'm so sorry.

 

[Ahriman]

Very, very interesting. The first thing that comes to mind is "well that's basically concentrated death soup" and people would be dropping like flies, but it's not the case. It's definitely worth looking into.

I imagine it gives you such a bad case of the runs that you'll wish you were dead, though.

 

[Clop]

I'm sorry but even though people say it's great, the whole "just keeps getting better every time" is physically impossible. You don't just "keep seeping into the broth" perpetually. I am not high enough to eat this (metaphorically speaking - I'd still give that stuff a taste.)

 

[Nick Gars]

The alcoholic in me with the iron stomach thinks this probably does have a unique taste due to the age and would accept the challenge.


The cook in me is screaming at the top of his lungs about a multitude of health code violations and cross contamination.

 

[wylfım]

I was expecting something disgusting about the soup being 45 years old with flies hovering over it, but this was surprisingly innocuous. I imagine they drain it to near-empty every day while cooking, so the turnover rate might be 3-4 days at most (and given that its constantly heated that means bacterial growth is nill). The only thing that's actually 45 years old here is the pot.
10/10 would try.

 

[Immortal Technique]

The alcoholic in me with the iron stomach thinks this probably does have a unique taste due to the age and would accept the challenge.

Maybe this stew will be the one to unlock that colon of yours.

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

So it's pretty much like how you create your own yoghurt by using leftovers to form a new culture.

 

[SmileyTimeDayCare]

So this is essentially a Hunter's Pot?

Uncommon but not shockingly rare.

Also tripe? Gross.

 

[Kirito]

Master stocks are relatively common in china and its cultural sphere. It's not that special.

 

[PL 001]

I'd be interested in trying it, but I also feel like this is the sort of thing that would make your butthole do an impression of Mt. Vesuvius after consuming it.

 

[Red Sun]

I'd be interested in trying it, but I also feel like this is the sort of thing that would make your butthole do an impression of Mt. Vesuvius after consuming it.

It's probably a safer bet than drinking the water in the same area. It'd definitely do a number on your gastrointestinal system, but then so would Thai food served in a western restaurant.

 

[JM 590]

Tbh we all take bigger risks every time we eat at McDonalds

 

[UQ 770]

Apparently this happens over in burgerland sometimes as well:

 

[Tiamat]

kind of impressive they've managed to keep the same broth for over 40 years tbh. I wonder how it tastes since they say its a source of their delicious dishes

 

[Dom Cruise]

Bangkok, Oriental city
And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the stew world
In a show with everything but Yul Brynner

 

[John Titor]

So this is essentially a Hunter's Pot?

Uncommon but not shockingly rare.

Also tripe? Gross.

Perpetual stew - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I don't feel fazed after learning what that is.

 

[オウム]

I'd like to see someone chisel off a chunk of that black stuff and eat it.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

bacteria can't develop or survive in boiling water, just five minutes of boiling is enough to effectively sterilize water.
if the soup is kept at a perpetual simmer (at or near the boiling point) and is never allowed to cool down for extended periods of time then it's perfectly safe to eat no matter how long it has been going.

Exactly. People do similar stuff with beef and lard. They will keep a coffee can, fill it with bacon dripping and rendered beef fat, and keep refilling it and using it. Since the fat gets cooked to a high temperature when it melts, nothing survives that.*

*It's not as easy as just dumping it in, but straining it and other stuff has to happen. Don't do it at home without researching it