Mickey Sheehan

All hail the mighty khao pat gai

Boring yes, but never a dish to be underestimated


That clump of yellowish fried rice - sometimes containing bits of tomato, carrot and baby corn - topped with a solitary spring onion and even a slice or two of cucumber if the cook is in a particularly creative mood - all fastidiously arranged on an oversize white plate.

Let's all come together and celebrate one of Thailand's 'national treasures' - ladies and gentlemen, I give you ‘khao pat gai' (or chicken fried rice)

The great standby

When I first came to Thailand, I learned to order khao pat gai before I'd even learned the numbers one to ten or how to tell a taxi driver to turn left at the next intersection. It's what most foreigners do. There are tales told of expats that have been living on khao pat gai (washed down with large bottles of beer) for ten years or more.

Khao pat gai is the last bastion of the unadventurous Thai foodie. It's what you order when your pathetic attempts at pronouncing other Thai dishes draw nothing but blank stares and quizzical looks from a terrified waitress. It's that glorious dish that you can always rely on - "Oh fuck it, I'll have a khao pat gai"

In short, khao man gai is the egg and chips of the Thai culinary world.

I've never eaten an amazing khao pat gai and I've never eaten a bad one either. When it comes to being consistently consistent, the dish is in a league of its own. It's like a McDonalds cheeseburger meal - the attraction is that you know exactly what you're in for, even if you're not really in the mood to eat it.

And you can be at a roadside shack in the middle of a remote northern province on a dry, dusty road to nowhere - when the menu is leaning towards fermented intestines and things with eight legs still swimming in a dirty glass tank, the cook will always know how to whip up a chicken fried rice.

A life-saver

How many times have I been out for dinner with a group of Thai friends and that enormous bowl of khao pat gai has saved the day? You of course have done the honorable thing of taking a back seat and letting the Thais take charge of ordering the grub, only to then see the waitresses bring a succession of dishes that you couldn't possibly eat in a thousand years. And then just as you're contemplating feigning a heart attack as an exit strategy, it arrives in a bowl the size of a fucking paddling pool. Freshly cooked and piping hot, there's enough khao pat gai in that bowl to feed an army: certainly enough to get a hungry but picky farang through the evening. Listen, you lot can poke away at that cremated fish all night long but the khao pat gai is mine! Now if only that plastic serving spoon was bigger. 

Another reason this fine dish should be celebrated is that it acts as its very own menu pricing yardstick. Very seldom do you sit down and peruse a restaurant menu where khao pat gai is not the cheapest item on show.

My general rule of thumb is that anything below a hundred baht for a khao pat gai is acceptable but if we're talking about 125 baht or more, then that's just the restaurant owner playing silly buggers. You'd be wise to make a show of patting your back pocket, telling the waitress you need to go to the cashpoint machine - and never return. In fact, never even walk past the restaurant again. Ever.

I've occasionally heard stories of foreigners who have torn up the rule book: foreigners who haven't stuck to the path and who have strayed on to the moors. Not content with being able to order a khao pat gai and being satisfied when the correct dish is set before them, they've gone over to the dark side and ordered a ‘khao pat something else'.

Has life taught you nothing?

Listen to your Uncle Mickey's advice. Why make things difficult? The ‘boo' in khao pat boo (crab fried rice) and the ‘moo' in khao pat moo (pork fried rice) are basically indistinguishable to your average Thai waitress - especially when you say it. And if you ever feel the need to strike out and go for the khao pat gung (prawn fried rice) - don't. I've learned from experience that you'll get three animals at best.

As for khao pat Hong Kong, let's not even go there.

Do-it-yourself

Now call me a sentimental old fool but I've recently taken to making my own fried rice dishes at home. Chicken fried rice of course. I'm not Raymond Blanc or some bloody Masterchef finalist.

The advantages of making your own version of this incredible dish is that you can pimp it up to your heart's content. You can add obscene quantities of chicken meat and use up all those leftover veggies that are threatening to go furry at the bottom of the salad crisper.

Sometimes - and don't mention this to Gordon Ramsay will you? - I might even spoon in a dollop of tomato sauce to give the rice a sort of orangey glow. Oh, what a time to be alive.

Anyway, I'm writing this piece in an unfamiliar restaurant. The waitress looks like she's never seen a foreign customer in her life. I've managed to successfully order a Coke, all I need now is a simple main dish that even she'll have no problems with.

Have you guessed what it is yet?




Comments

On the rarest of occasions perhaps khao phat talay. Never anything else and do yourself a favor and never be seen eating this bit of nastiness.

After decades here I've come to the conclusion farang don't like rice and can't eat spicy food. That's why living on Sukhumvit is so popular.

By Jim Beam, The Big Smoke (16th April 2021)

Fun article, we've all been there, Although muu and goong aren't to hard to pronounce. What's key is avoiding the quizzical screwed up face and the grunt of ''huh?'' that draws attention to the situation, especially when others are standing there waiting to place their oder after you.
Shit...I may have to reconfirm my order, and this time the whole street is waiting to hear me, it's dead silence, almost like the first time off the high diving board, I hope I don't belly flop and draw attention to myself.
Playing safe is the key, stay off the moors and keep to the paths.
I was lucky, I'd worked at a Thai restaurant in London before my first solo trip, but I remember my first time asking the taxi to head for Bang ram poo...or is that Bung lam boo?

By Pat_Bangkok, Bangkok (9th April 2021)

Hey Mickey,

A great article even though I could recall most of it from the last time around - I still enjoyed reading it.

By the way, I happened to see you a couple of weeks ago in an outside restuarant in Samut Prakarn and you didn't half look sharp in that suit.

Needless to say, after you'd done a runner without paying for your khoa pat gai, the poor waiter meandered 200 yards up and down that street trying to find you.

Agreeably, at 120 baht it was a bit steep, but the poor soul was weeping. What I mean is, he had to cough up for it himself and as I understand it - he only gets neung loy baht a shift.

By Richard Constable, Bang Na (9th April 2021)

Great piece. Next to knowing the hong nam coordinates in most office towers and malls food is essential. Survival skills are paramount in the Land of Sam-eye.

Takes me back a few years, your Khao pad gai piece does.
They'd just blink at me when I'd order verbally rather than point to the kai yang and ask that it be suk-suk.

The look I got rolled out in three stages.

1) She just stopped mid-shuffle, popped her eyes open in disbelief that this white-shirted boxidah with the long sleeves of his impeccably laundered shirt and non-Sukhumvit Rd. tie could possibly even know about roast chicken.

2) So you'd get her freezing up, quacking out a melodious "heh?? ??" announcing to you and (more importantly) every Thai within earshot that she hadn't understood your Thai. So you'd repeat your order.
SA-LOW-LEEEE.
You'd like a chicken leg with som tam. Well done. With some dipping sauce. Could she put 3 chillies in the som tam.

3) Years of village auntie wisdom would suddenly kick in. She'd know that if she achnowledged any direct understanding of your Thai that her colleagues might possibly jump to horrific conclusions.
She did what any self-respecting low-level worker does . . . . . . she excuses herself to get an older waitress or the boss to confirm her suspicion that you wanted somtam/Kai yang and a Coke.

Your first, but certainly not your last encounter with street-level Sakdinah

By Prufroqe, Octave Bar, Thonglor Marriot, Bangkok (28th April 2016)

Post your comment

Comments are moderated and will not appear instantly.

Featured Jobs

Female Kindergarten Teacher

฿45,000+ / month

Bangkok


Coaching English Teacher

฿47,000+ / month

Bangkok


Part-time NES Teachers for Young Learners

฿25,000+ / month

Online


English, Science, and Math Teachers

฿42,300+ / month

Thailand


Elementary School & IB MYP Music Teacher

฿35,000+ / month

Nakhon Ratchasima


Full-time NES Teachers

฿330+ / hour

Udon Thani


Featured Teachers

  • Brenna


    American, 37 years old. Currently living in South Korea

  • Pete


    Canadian, 65 years old. Currently living in Thailand

  • Anthony


    British, 36 years old. Currently living in Thailand

  • John


    American, 48 years old. Currently living in USA

  • Işıl


    Turkish, 32 years old. Currently living in Turkey

  • Njala


    Cameroonian, 27 years old. Currently living in Cameroon

The Hot Spot


Contributions welcome

Contributions welcome

If you like visiting ajarn.com and reading the content, why not get involved yourself and keep us up to date?


Will I find work in Thailand?

Will I find work in Thailand?

It's one of the most common questions we get e-mailed to us. So find out exactly where you stand.


Air your views

Air your views

Got something to say on the topic of teaching, working or living in Thailand? The Ajarn Postbox is the place. Send us your letters!


Need Thailand insurance?

Need Thailand insurance?

Have a question about health or travel insurance in Thailand? Ricky Batten from Pacific Prime is Ajarn's resident expert.


The dreaded demo

The dreaded demo

Many schools ask for demo lessons before they hire. What should you the teacher be aware of?


Teacher mistakes

Teacher mistakes

What are the most common mistakes that teachers make when they are about to embark on a teaching career in Thailand? We've got them all covered.


The Region Guides

The Region Guides

Fancy working in Thailand but not in Bangkok? Our region guides are written by teachers who actually live and work in the provinces.


The cost of living

The cost of living

How much money does a teacher need to earn in order to survive in Thailand? We analyze the facts.