As a Thai person abroad, it can be a treat to see something from Thailand reach a global audience. And sometimes, what reaches international stardom is an adorable pygmy hippo from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
Born on July 10, Moo Deng has received the celebrity treatment. Visitors flock to her enclosure in Chonburi, which is around an hour and a half from Bangkok (and sort of on the way to Pattaya, another popular tourist destination). She’s also gone viral online. And why shouldn’t she? She’s adorable, likes to bite and nap, and captures a lot of chaotic, relatable energy. The fanart and edits have also been a delight, and she now has her own 24 hour livestream.
Moo Deng has been covered by TIME Magazine, The Guardian and Vogue as she continues to grace timelines and for you pages all over the world. I haven’t read every single news piece on Moo Deng in existence, but I did skim through a bunch of them, particularly ones written in English. And I have to say… the translation of “moo deng” (หมูเด้ง) often leaves much to be desired. (Shoutout to this one Japanese news coverage that did it best.)
I’ve seen a few translations go around. Most news stories keep it to “bouncy pig” or the more accurate “bouncy pork,” but don’t clarify that the name is culinary in nature, as opposed to just being a cute phrase. I think social media is how most people figured out that moo deng is a food. Jintamas Saksornchai from the Associated Press got the closest by calling it a meatball.
But there’s different types of meatballs in Thai food. So let’s get more specific. The food “moo deng” specifically refers to a meatball made out of ground pork. The defining characteristic is its texture when cooked: a bit of resistance, but still soft. In other words: bouncy.
Moo deng is often eaten with soups, noodles, and boiled rice. You can also use it to make dumplings/wontons, spread it out over a specific Thai toast dish, fry it, stir-fry it, whatever floats your boat. Moo deng is pretty much a flexible ingredient, and you can pretty much prepare it however you want.
It’s a popular way of consuming ground pork in Thailand, and there are plenty of recipes telling you how to make it at home. Recipes can vary but usually involve a seasoning blend (such as light soy sauce, seasoning sauce, sugar, pepper) and flour. It’s easy to make at home if you’re willing to put in a little extra effort during meal prep.
While we’re here, let’s take a look at some other “moo” names since it’s a trend at the zoo.
Let’s start with Moo Toon (หมูตุ๋น), which translates to “stewed pork.” Like the food moo deng, stewed pork is usually eaten with noodles or rice. I personally really like it with noodles. As for the hippo, Moo Toon was born at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo on Oct. 27, 2019 and is Moo Deng’s older brother. It looks like he was the big shot at the zoo before Moo Deng came around.
Poor Moo Toon, may you receive some love from the internet as well. It’s extra sad when you learn that one of Moo Deng’s famous pictures that feature her chomping on the leg of a caretaker is, in fact, Moo Toon.
There’s also Moo Waan (หมูหวาน), Moo Deng’s older half-sister through their father. She was born on Jan 14, 2021, but I couldn’t find a strong online presence of her. Though there is footage of her opening a door.
Moo Waan, meaning “sweet pork” is a very apt description of the dish. Sweet and savory, moo waan is often made using pork belly with palm sugar as the main sweetener, and is eaten with rice. This dish is also a bit of a treat for me, as I only ever have it when I visit my mom’s hometown in southern Thailand.
There’s also another “moo” name at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. It’s Khamoo (ขาหมู), a hippopotamus (not a pygmy hippo, different species), named after braised pork leg. Khao kha moo (rice with braised pork leg) comes with blanched kale, pickled veggies, a soft boiled egg, and a sour and spicy sauce on the side, and is probably one of my favorite dishes in existence.
After writing most of this post, my takeaway is that the most popular pygmy hippo is the one with the most complicated name to translate. But I think that her popularity has helped introduce people around the world to some Thai dishes that they’ve never heard of before.
From my experience, most Thai restaurants abroad have very similar menus. There’s nothing wrong with Pad Thais and Pad See Ews and the different colored curries, but they were rarely my go-tos growing up and I’ve always found myself craving foods like moo toon and khamoo. So if you ever see these dishes appear on a Thai menu, give them a try! A new favorite Thai food might just be an order away…
Panisara (Por) Jaijongkit 