Thai American Fried Rice (Khao Pad American)
Thailand's idea of an American plate: ketchup fried rice with carrots, peas, corn and raisins, molded into a dome and crowned with a sunny-side-up egg, with crisp fried chicken drumsticks, blooming hot dogs, tomato and cucumber around it.
Thailand has a fried rice named after America, and almost nobody in America has heard of it. Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai Kitchen calls khao pad American a uniquely Thai dish built from things Thais connect with American food: ketchup, hot dogs, sunny-side-up eggs and fried chicken drumsticks, which she guesses came by way of KFC. She says it is one of the most popular dishes among Thai kids, because it is not spicy and looks like fun, especially with octopus-cut cocktail wieners.
Where it came from is a three-way argument. Wikipedia gives each account. In a 2006 interview with the Thai magazine Sakul Thai, Sureepan Maneewat said she invented it around 1950 while running the Ratchathani Restaurant at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport, frying leftover American breakfast ingredients with rice after an airline canceled a flight. Others credit a Thai-Chinese cook called Go Jek, who is said to have made it for US Marines and airmen stationed at Korat and Udon Thani during the Vietnam War (citing the cookbook Nong's Thai Kitchen). A third theory links it to Mexican rice and Louisiana dirty rice carried over by American soldiers. Wikipedia's khao phat page simply says it was served to US soldiers in Thailand during the Vietnam War.
Why it works the kitchen science
Ketchup cooked into the rice
Frying the ketchup with soy and seasoning sauce over high heat caramelizes its sugar, so the rice tastes sweet and savory rather than of raw ketchup.
A plate built for contrast
Soft sweet rice in the middle, crunchy chicken and snappy hot dogs around it, and a runny or firm egg on top to tie it together.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the drumsticks, fish sauce, soy sauce, water and white pepper in a zip-top bag, squeeze out the air and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to overnight in the refrigerator; take it out 30 minutes before frying).
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 200°F. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Toss the chicken with the cornstarch and flour into a smooth, thin batter. Fry without crowding, keeping the oil near 325°F, 8 to 9 minutes, until the thickest drumstick reads 165°F near the bone. Drain and hold in the oven.
- Step 3
Turn off the heat and drop the hot dogs into the still-hot oil about 10 seconds, until they curl and "bloom". Drain.
- Step 4
While the chicken fries, fry the eggs sunny side up in a lightly oiled nonstick skillet over medium heat, about 3 minutes, covering for the last minute if you want the yolks set.
- Step 5
Stir the ketchup, soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce and white pepper together. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat and cook the onion, garlic and carrot about 3 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add the peas, corn and raisins for 30 seconds.
- Step 6
Add the rice and the sauce, turn the heat to high and toss 2 to 3 minutes, pressing out lumps, until every grain is red and the rice is steaming hot (165°F).
- Step 7
Pack the rice into a bowl and turn it out onto a plate. Set a fried egg on top and arrange the chicken, hot dogs, tomato and cucumber around it.
Thai American Fried Rice (Khao Pad American)
Serves 2 · 2 plates (2 drumsticks each) · 1 hr 20 min total
Fried chicken
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- Pinch of white pepper
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for a thicker coating
- Vegetable oil for frying, about 2 inches deep
Toppings
- 2 hot dogs, cut into 2-inch pieces and scored, or a handful of cocktail wieners
- 2 large eggs, for sunny-side-up eggs
- Tomato and cucumber slices
Ketchup fried rice
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Golden Mountain seasoning sauce or Maggi
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 small onion, small diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/3 cup small-diced carrot
- 1/4 cup peas (or diced sugar snap peas)
- 3 tbsp corn kernels, frozen or canned
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 350 g (about 2 1/4 cups) cooked jasmine rice, preferably chilled
Method
- Put the drumsticks, fish sauce, soy sauce, water and white pepper in a zip-top bag, squeeze out the air and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to overnight in the refrigerator; take it out 30 minutes before frying).
- Heat the oven to 200°F. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Toss the chicken with the cornstarch and flour into a smooth, thin batter. Fry without crowding, keeping the oil near 325°F, 8 to 9 minutes, until the thickest drumstick reads 165°F near the bone. Drain and hold in the oven.
- Turn off the heat and drop the hot dogs into the still-hot oil about 10 seconds, until they curl and "bloom". Drain.
- While the chicken fries, fry the eggs sunny side up in a lightly oiled nonstick skillet over medium heat, about 3 minutes, covering for the last minute if you want the yolks set.
- Stir the ketchup, soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce and white pepper together. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat and cook the onion, garlic and carrot about 3 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Add the peas, corn and raisins for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and the sauce, turn the heat to high and toss 2 to 3 minutes, pressing out lumps, until every grain is red and the rice is steaming hot (165°F).
- Pack the rice into a bowl and turn it out onto a plate. Set a fried egg on top and arrange the chicken, hot dogs, tomato and cucumber around it.
Adapted from Pailin Chongchitnant, "American Fried Rice", Hot Thai Kitchen (fried rice serves 2; fried chicken makes 4 drumsticks). We follow its amounts (1/2 small onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1/3 cup carrot, 1/4 cup peas, 3 tbsp corn, 2 tbsp raisins, 350 g cooked rice, 3 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Golden Mountain sauce, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 2 eggs; for the chicken 4 drumsticks, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp water, 1/4 cup each cornstarch and flour), its 30 minute marinade, its 350°F oil held at about 325°F for 8 to 9 minutes, its 10 second hot dog bloom and its 200°F holding oven. Pailin says to use as many hot dogs as you like; our 2, the 1 tbsp of oil for the rice, the egg and rice times and the 165°F checks are ours. hot-thai-kitchen.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Pailin says any fried chicken works, even takeout, and baked or grilled chicken is fine if you don't want to fry.
- No frying? Heat the hot dogs any way you like: boil, bake, grill or pan-fry.
- Score the hot dog ends into "legs" before they hit the oil; they curl open like little octopuses.
- Wikipedia says some versions add pineapple and croutons, and that a Muslim version in southern Thailand and Malaysia uses Thai-style red-cooked beef or chicken instead of pork sausages.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Who invented it. Disputed: Sureepan Maneewat at Don Mueang Airport around 1950 (Sakul Thai, 2006, via Wikipedia) vs the cook Go Jek for US troops during the Vietnam War (Nong's Thai Kitchen, via Wikipedia) vs an evolution of American Mexican rice or dirty rice.
- It was made for American soldiers. Disputed: Wikipedia's khao phat page says it was served to US soldiers during the Vietnam War; its American fried rice page puts Sureepan's story first, about 1950.
- The fried chicken came from KFC. Folklore: Pailin says "possibly"; no source.
- It is a kids' dish. Documented as Pailin's account of Thailand.
Every other fried rice
Yangzhou Fried Rice (Young Chow Fried Rice)
China's most famous fried rice: day-old rice stir-fried with egg, shrimp, ham, roast pork, onion and peas, seasoned with salt, a pinch of sugar and Shaoxing wine instead of soy sauce, and finished with crisp lettuce and scallions.
Thai Crab Fried Rice (Khao Pad Pu)
Jasmine rice stir-fried with golden garlic and marbled egg, seasoned with fish sauce, soy and a little sugar, toasted in the wok, topped with sweet lump crab and served with cucumber, lime and chili fish sauce.
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice with Shrimp and a Fried Egg)
Cold rice fried with shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, coriander and cumin, shrimp, snow peas and bean sprouts, darkened and sweetened with kecap manis and sambal, then topped with omelet strips and a fried egg.
Chahan (Japanese Fried Rice with Chashu Pork)
Japanese short-grain rice stir-fried with fluffy egg, diced chashu pork belly and green onion, seasoned with soy sauce, white pepper and sesame oil, then packed into a rice bowl and turned out as a neat dome.
Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Korean Kimchi Fried Rice)
Steamed rice stir-fried with sour, well-fermented kimchi, its red brine and gochujang, finished with toasted sesame oil and topped with green onion, shredded gim, sesame seeds and a fried egg.
Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Chinese Fried Rice)
The fried rice of Peru's chifa restaurants: chilled rice stir-fried with garlic and ginger-marinated chicken, ham, squares of thin omelet and green onions, seasoned with soy sauce and served with lime and ají.
Omurice (Japanese Omelet Rice)
Ketchup chicken rice with onion and peas, wrapped in a soft, custardy butter omelet, turned out seam side down into a neat football shape and finished with a zigzag of ketchup.
Chinese-American Pork Fried Rice
The takeout classic: jasmine rice darkened with soy and dark soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine, tossed with a full pound of red-edged char siu, onion, bean sprouts, scrambled egg and scallions.
Hawaii-Style Spam Fried Rice
Diced Spam fried until the edges crisp with ginger, onion and carrots, then tossed with rice, Shaoxing wine, soy and fish sauce, egg, peas and scallions, the local-style fried rice of Hawaii.
Hibachi Fried Rice (Japanese Steakhouse Garlic Butter Fried Rice)
The flat-top fried rice of America's Japanese steakhouses: freshly boiled long-grain rice fried until it sizzles and pops with soft egg and scallions, glazed with soy sauce and mirin and finished with garlic butter.
20-Minute Leftover Fried Rice
The weeknight method: leftover rice toasted in two batches in a smoking-hot wok, then tossed with onion, carrot, garlic and scallions, a little soy and sesame oil, one egg and a handful of frozen peas.
Hibachi Chicken Fried Rice, Inspired by Benihana
Inspired by, not official: jasmine rice fried with browned chicken, carrot, onion, garlic and soy sauce, crisped in a well of melting butter, then finished with scrambled egg, sesame seeds and scallions, the way the steakhouse chicken rice tastes.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.