Fried Chicken and sticky rice (Street Food)

Gai Tod (ไก่ทอด)

Fried chicken and sticky rice is a favourite of my daughter's and I enjoy it as well.

It is a dish which is served throughout Phuket and is on the side of the road. We usually buy ours in Sapan Hin or Sakdidej Road (on the way home from Phuket Town) but is available in a great many places.

What I find the most fascinating is that the taste is usually the same whichever place you choose to purchase your food so there must be a standard recipe?

This day I was lucky because I managed to be at the stall at about 10 am in the morning and here was a lady with chicken pieces in a big bowl and was turning them over to be covered in the flour mixture.

I think that the secret here is in the marinade - see here for one.

After the chicken pieces were covered in the flour mixture / batter.
This is where I read things can change - I also read that if it is made by a different community it is also different, for example Muslim and Buddhist).

 I watched them being put into the boiling oil (usually palm oil if that makes a difference). I also know that there are differences in the oil that are made by adding pandanus leaves?

The chicken is cooked for a longer time than I initially thought. The second 'nugget' (sorry) of information is this - cook the chicken until it begins to dry up.

This does distinguish it from a Western version (for example: KFC) where there is a degree of moisture left in the chicken meat - there is very little but it does mean that the chicken is moist - Thai Fried Chicken is dry.

It is also served with sticky rice and fried shallots - a wonderful mixture and always a treat for us.