The Hirshon Supreme Southern Thai Hat Yai Fried Chicken – ไก่ทอดหาดใหญ่

My Citizens – today I, shall exercise a rarely-given right and Title of Mine own as the Supreme Educator of TFD Nation – for a lesson in fortitude and patience. Two weeks ago, whilst in the fevered hours of pre-dawn insomnia, I spent hours developing an unmatched recipe for one of the finest fried chicken meals on the planet. It was perfection. It was the next step in fried chicken evolution. It was accidentally deleted to howls of impotent rage. It broke My will…temporarily. I dusted Myself off, and RECREATED that lost recipe for Southern Thai Hat Yai fried chicken for YOUR pleasure!

There are many styles of street food fried chicken – all of them transcendent as the combination of juicy chicken meat, a well-fried crust and lots of salt, herbs and spices are three of the cornerstones of a successful fried chicken experience. The last one is the intangible quality inherent in the MOMENT, eating it on the street surrounded by friends and family. Unlike most fried chicken recipes (KFC being a storied exception) this one DOES have an origin story and it is – like My own example of fortitude – one rooted in desperation, and restored by creativity and inner strength of character!

As noted in an excellent history of Hat Yai fried chicken I found at medium.com/@jintawat.phaiboontrirat:

There is a story about Hat Yai Fried Chicken that takes place about 30 years ago and involves a husband and wife. Aunt Wan and Uncle Thongkham, the wife, worked in a fresh market in Hat Yai, Songkhla, selling fresh chicken. The economy was in bad shape at the time.

The fresh chicken could not be sold out in a single day because there was so much leftover chicken every day. So they decided to devise a formula. Uncle Thongkham took the fresh chicken left over from the morning sale and marinated it with the formula he devised after some thought. Initially, he ate it himself, gave some to friends, and sold some to gauge the reaction, but it was still not selling well.

Until Uncle Jom’s wife became ill one day. Uncle Jom felt sorry for the goods, so he gave vegetables to market vendors and shallots to Uncle Thong. Uncle Thong noticed that the shallots were starting to rot. So he took it to the alley and fried it until crispy while selling fried chicken. Uncle Thongkham did not anticipate that these fried onions would be sold alongside fried chicken. Customers who bought it at the time, on the other hand, said it smelled very good when they walked by and could smell fried chicken and fried onions.

Uncle scooped up fried shallots and sprinkled them over fried chicken after hearing that. Carry out this procedure for each package sold that day. Another day has passed, but the customer inquires whether the fried chicken was not topped with fried shallots as it was the day before? Uncle Thongkham was taken aback by how many customers requested fried shallots.

The recipe was then tweaked by Uncle Thong to make it more intense, and fried shallots were made to be sprinkled on top every time. It’s been less than a month. Customers gathered in front of the shop until there was almost no room to stand. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the recipe can sell out quickly. It sold so well that many newspapers requested an interview. Uncle Thongkham and Aunt Wan eventually stopped selling fresh chicken and only sold fried chicken.

This story is remembered to this day, that if you eat fried chicken, you must think of Gai Tod Hat Yai, regardless of which province you go to, especially if you want to eat fried chicken. Frequently, you’ll see the name of fried chicken followed by the word “Hat Yai.” Hat Yai Fried Chicken is one of Thailand’s OTOP products that has helped Hat Yai make a name for itself.

Today, this cooking style has spread all over the city and in fact, all over Thailand itself! It is so beloved that it is said you have never visited Hat Yai if you haven’t sampled their famous street-fried chicken in-situ! I agree with this assessment. Yes, if you’re an American it’s always a bit problematic eating street food abroad. This is FRIED chicken, which means any pathogens in the water that washed the meat are instantly delivered unto their next incarnation of life by searing-hot oil. In other words, eat away and enjoy one of the great recipes for fried bird existent upon the planet today!

For the record, Hat Yai (หาดใหญ่; also Had Yai, Hadyai) is the fifth-largest city in Thailand and is located on the Southern Gulf Coast near Malaysia. It is an extremely popular tourist spot for Malaysians and Singaporeans on holiday and weekends. As a word of caution, you will see a lot of touristy EVERYTHING here. As the transit city to the rest of Thailand, this city is a must stop. Even if you want to go off the beaten path, this city has hidden gems that shouldn’t be missed. Note that prices are high here (however not as high as on Thailand‘s popular islands).

There are numbers of department stores, shopping malls and markets throughout the city. Suntisook Market on Nipat U-tid 1, 2 & 3 roads are among the best-known. Their main products are imported processed food, cosmetics, fabrics, gadgets and electrical appliances. The city’s major wet market is located near the railway station. And another one is Kim Yong market on Supasarn Rungsan road. Kim Yong market (also Gim Yong) is a famous market located in the center of Hat Yai, Songkhla.

The goods in this market are varied and each part of the market is different. On the first floor of the building, there are fresh foods, such as vegetables, meats, certain seafood, groceries, clothes, snacks, and dry foodstuffs. It is well known that Kim Yong Market has many kinds of dry foodstuffs from China and snacks like chocolates and chips from Malaysia. On the second floor, there are electric appliances which are made in Thailand and China.

All of these imported goods are inexpensive because they are tax-free. Outside of the building, many shops and stalls can be found along small streets. Most of the shops sell batiks from Malaysia and Indonesia and Muslim clothes while the majority of stalls sell foods and fruits. Moreover, chestnut is another popular product, which visitors prefer to buy. They can notice chestnut stalls easily by the man who roasts the chestnut and by the smell. Thanks to the variety of goods in this market, it is able to attract a large number of people, not only local people but also foreigners and travelers.

An important Buddhist temple is Hat Yai Nai Temple or Wat Hat Yai Nai. It is home to the third largest reclining statue on the planet. People travel from all over Thailand just to pay respect to this statue. Held on the first night of October, Chak Phra is a Buddhist festival specific to the south of Thailand. It is celebrated with Buddha boat processions or sports events like a run up Khao Tang Kuan hill. In September or October at the Chinese Lunar festival, the Thai and Chinese present their offerings to the moon, “queen of the heavens”, in gratitude for past and future fortunes.

Hat Yai is also well known for its spectacular celebrations of the Chinese New Year festival. Although Thai elements have been incorporated (for example, Thai pop stars have been invited to perform), the celebration remains distinctively Chinese. “Despite being several generations removed from Hat Yai’s original Chinese pioneers, the New Year celebration provides strong evidence that the community is still influenced by and strongly identifies with its Chinese roots.

Hat Yai is built on tourism – in fact before 1922, the city of Hat Yai didn’t even EXIST, except for a small village called Khok Su-Met Choon. A Hakka Chinese man named Mr. Khun Niphat Chinnakorn invested heavily on building railway lines from Nakhon Si Thammarat in to Pattani. Khok Su-Met Choon was chosen to be the new site for the railway station that we see today because the existing railway station at that time was prone to flooding. Khok Su-Met Choon changed its name to Hat Yai, and it grew so fast the population soared from just four in 1922 to more than 380,000 today.

Note that Hat Yai is actually NOT the capital of the province; that title goes to Songkhla. However, Hat Yai is the investment and business magnet of the province. Thanks to tourists from neighboring countries, this city is filled with tourism-related businesses. Hotels, markets, massage parlors and a not-so-authentic floating market are built on this land, making it a sweet spot for a transit and lots of photos. Food hunting is a must here as Southern Thailand and especially Hat Yai is known to have great fried chicken eaten with sticky rice and Thai chili sauce.

To that last point – with all the hype and buildup of this recipe, you may be surprised to hear that there is no canonical recipe for Hat Yai fried chicken! Yes, each and every street vendor have their own unique spin on the recipe, and all of them have ascended midway up the slope of the mountain of Heaven – but I ALONE have ascended fully and scaled to its dazzling summit of glory! As such, My recipe is no less representative of this style of cooking than any other in Hat Yai – mine just happens to be better.

The template for Hat Yai fried chicken recipe incorporates many robust flavors – the chicken are marinated (ideally overnight) in a blend of crushed garlic, coriander root, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce before being lightly dredged in rice flour and fried. The combination of golden fried shallots and the flavorful, spice-laden chicken was indeed a match made in heaven! Today, Thais savor this Hat Yai offering with a steaming hot plate of sticky rice and sweet-hot-tangy chili dipping as a hearty and satisfying breakfast.

All vendors create their standard recipes from that template and I have followed their guidance while blazing Mine own culinary trail toward the shining city of perfection that only the bold, the mad and the brilliant ever enter! Being all three, I am thrice-blessed and My benison is now YOURS as I share the recipe that almost got away with all the proud citizens of TFD Nation – Hat Yai fried chicken is not just one recipe, it’s actually three when you include the glutinous rice always served as an accompaniment and the chili dipping sauce. My Hat Yai recipe is TRULY unmatched – please note you need to start these recipes 24 hours in advance.

For frying Hat Yai fried chicken and their all-important shallot garnish, it is imperative (IMHO) to use palm oil, as the street vendors do, as the savor it imparts is simply unmatched. I prefer to use red palm oil as it adds additional color to the fried chicken as well as an ineffable and haunting smokiness to the final product – this is My preferred brand. You can also use regular palm oil as the Thais do or even peanut or corn oil.

The classic seasoning in Thai food, from an historical perspective, is the white peppercorn and I use the best in the world (which are grown in neighboring Cambodia) known as Kampot – this is My preferred vendor for Kampot peppercorns of all colors. I have also tweaked the recipe to include some green peppercorns from the can to add another layer of peppery goodness to the fine brushwork of My culinary palette (pun intended). This is My preferred brand and save the brine, as I also call for its use in the dipping sauce to supplement the classic vinegar and offer reciprocity to the chicken.

Palm sugar is classically used in this recipe and it adds a level of depth to the flavor profile that regular sugar just can’t match! This is My go-to brand for Thai palm sugar and once you taste it, you’ll never go back to brown sugar ever again. Fish sauce provides umami to the marinade/coating and Red Boat 50 is my preferred fish sauce brand as it has more umami than any other style – grab it from here. Hat Yai fried chicken unashamedly embraces MSG – and so should you. MSG can be purchased here and I also use Knorr Aromat seasoning in place of salt, for similar reasons and extra umami.

Thai oyster sauce just so happens to be the best in the world, and I have exclusively used Megachef brand in all My cooking for many years now – it’s simply the best for adding meaty richness to any recipe calling for it and you an easily buy some from here. Most vendors typically use rice flour to coat their fried chicken and it does indeed work to provide a thin and crispy finish to the final product. However, a select few discerning vendors instead go with a tempura flour base, and mix the seasonings into it for a truly visceral taste experience – and I follow their genius lead!

Tempura flour can be easily purchased from Amazon here and there is a trick the Japanese chefs use that I religiously follow – use ICE-COLD club soda as the carbonation makes the surface even crispier! I have taken the ultimate final step of adding in a bit of ice-cold coconut water as it adds savor, tropical flavor and the sugars caramelize beautifully in the hot palm oil! For the dipping sauce, you will need to thicken it with tapioca starch (buy it here) and you’ll also need glutinous rice as a side dish – you can buy top-quality glutinous rice from here.

Citizens, recreating this recipe from My damaged memory took much time and patience – but at last, it HAS been resurrected from the Elysian Fields to return to the land of the living to grace us all with its beatific presence once again! Enjoy this finest of fried chicken recipes, My dear members of TFD Nation – and stay the course!

Battle on – the Generalissimo

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