🍗 Hat Yai fried chicken
Kai tod Hat Yai is the fried chicken of southern Thailand: chicken pieces marinated with turmeric, garlic and spices, deep-fried until the skin is golden and crisp, then piled high with crunchy fried shallots. The turmeric gives it a deep yellow colour and an earthy aroma. It is typically eaten with sticky rice or plain rice as a snack or full meal.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken pieces
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground coriander and 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar
- 4 shallots, thinly sliced
- Oil for deep-frying
Method
- Rub the chicken with turmeric, garlic, coriander, pepper, salt and sugar; marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Fry the shallots in hot oil until golden, then drain on paper.
- Deep-fry the chicken at 170 °C for 12–15 minutes until cooked through and crisp.
- Drain and serve topped with the fried shallots.
How to make it lighter
- Remove the skin before eating, or use skinless chicken breast.
- Bake at 220 °C or air-fry instead of deep-frying.
- Use just a sprinkle of fried shallots — they absorb a lot of oil.
History
The dish is named after Hat Yai, the largest city in Songkhla province in southern Thailand, where it is a well-known street food. Today it is sold at stalls all over Thailand.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →