If there’s one Thai street food dish I could happily eat every day for the rest of my life, it’d be this: Thai fried chicken rice. It’s got snap, it’s got crackle, it’s got pure joy at every mouthful. Looking for a recipe to have on repeat? Right this way…
WATCH THIS RECIPE
Thai Fried Chicken Rice (Khao Mun Gai Tod)
PREP TIME
15 minutes
COOK TIME
1 hour
SERVES
6
Ingredients
Broth
1.5kg (3 lb 5 oz) chicken wings, halved at the joint
½ daikon radish, peeled, sliced into thin pieces
2 slices ginger
2 spring onions (scallions), trimmed, sliced in half lengthways
½ tsp ground white pepper
2 tbsp salt
Rice
2 coriander (cilantro) roots, scrubbed clean, lightly crushed with mortar and pestle
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1½ cups jasmine rice
Fried chicken
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
½ cup plain (all-purpose) flour, plus an extra ¼ cup for coating
¼ cup rice flour
¼ cup cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tsp ground white pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp bicarb (baking) soda
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
6 chicken thigh fillets
To serve
coriander (cilantro) leaves (optional)
sliced cucumber
store-bought or homemade sweet chilli sauce
Steps
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To make the broth, add all the ingredients to a large pot, plus 2 litres (2.1 qt) of water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and skim off any foam, leaving the oil behind, from the surface using a spider or a slotted spoon. Leave the broth to simmer for 30 minutes or until it’s looking clear, light and golden.
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Now let’s make the rice. Use a spoon to scoop up most of the oil from the surface of the broth, then transfer the oil to a wok or large frying pan. Add the crushed coriander root, garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium, then gently cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or the garlic has softened. Add the rice and cook, stirring well, for 1 minute or until all the rice grains are coated in the chicken fat and the ingredients are well incorporated.
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Transfer the rice mixture to a rice cooker, then add 2 cups of your chicken broth. Stir well and select cooking mode.
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While the rice is cooking, heat the oil for your fried chicken. Fill a saucepan or wok to about one-third capacity with vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat. Heat oil to 180°C (350°F), or until a wooden spoon dipped into the oil produces lots of bubbles.
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While the oil is coming to temperature, make the batter by adding the plain flour, rice flour, cornflour, pepper, garlic powder, bicarb and salt to a large bowl, mixing well. Pour in 1 cup of water, then whisk until the batter is smooth.
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Place the extra ¼ cup of plain flour on to a plate or tray. Coat the chicken pieces with flour, then into the batter until well coated. Carefully transfer the battered chicken pieces into the hot oil and deep-fry, flipping occasionally, for around 8–10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and transfer to a baking rack to drain off any excess oil and sprinkle with salt. Leave to cool slightly while you plate up.
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To serve, scoop some of your broth into small serving bowls and add a sprinkle of coriander leaves on top, if using. Add rice to serving plates (I like to serve mine old-school style by doing the whole upturned-bowl-resulting-in-rice-dome trick), then slice the fried chicken and place on top of the rice. Serve with sliced cucumber and sweet chilli sauce on the side.
Out of this world thai fried chicken
When I made it the first time, I thought I’d have enough for lunch the next day at work, but my husband and son went for seconds! It is amazing and so simple for max flavour!
My new favourite recipe
The chicken broth is amazeballs! I won’t enjoy any other type of rice as much as this.. again
However I made the batter a tad too thick – that’s an easy fix for me.
Easy, quick & delicious – thank you!
Flavour bomb!
So so tasty. The rice was fantastic and the chicken juicy and crisp. Will be a regular in our house from now on! And the leftover broth made an excellent base for a wonton noodle soup the next evening.