An omelette, ok, but what’s so special about it? Most importantly, it’s super fluffy on the inside and super crispy on the outside. Khai Jiao, the Thai omelette, also uses different ingredients than usual, the method of preparation is different and probably unique, and it is traditionally prepared in a wok.
Khai Jiao – the Thai omelette from the wok
Often mistakenly thought of as a breakfast dish due to its English name “omelette”, khai jiao is generally considered by Thai people as a rice topping to create a complete meal, or as part of a sam rap (a family meal with several dishes) to complement a sour dish or soften the spiciness of a chili paste dip. But served with just rice and chili sauce, the Thai omelette from the wok also makes a great meal in its own right.
The ingredients for Khai Jiao
All you need for one portion: two medium to large eggs and fish sauce to taste, whereby I always recommend Red Boat*, simply the best fish sauce on the market. Then add a few drops of acid (vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice), water and rice flour or cornstarch. The starch helps to form crispy edges on the khai jiao. Fry in neutral vegetable oil, although those who have lard to hand can also fry the omelette in it.
Preparing the Thai omelette from the wok
Making a good Thai omelette requires some technique, but it’s nothing complicated. The first technique we need, however, is a wok and ideally a wok burner, like the one and only Roaring Dragon.
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Cooking in a wok is preferable to cooking in a pan because the round base of the wok means you need significantly less oil for your khai jiao. A 3 cm layer of oil is ideal and sufficient. Just imagine how much oil you would need to pour into a pan with a diameter of 30 cm!
Khai Jiao – the decisive technique
We want wonderfully fluffy and crispy Thai omelettes. First of all, you need quite a lot of oil – more than you think is necessary for a two-egg omelette. However, a Thai omelette is very different from its French counterpart, and you can’t make a good omelette with a flat pan lightly coated with butter. You need oil – as already mentioned about 3cm.
The second aspect is that your oil should be smoking hot. This is to be taken literally, as the oil should be heated until it reaches its smoking point.
And now comes the third and most exciting aspect. Your whisked ingredients for the Thai omelette from the wok are poured into the smoking hot oil from a height of approx. 30 cm. This method ensures that the batter rises in the hot oil and becomes wonderfully fluffy.
Now it only takes about 15 to 20 seconds, then you turn your Thai omelette, leave it in the oil for the same amount of time, ideally remove it from the oil with a skimmer or wok strainer*, drain a little on kitchen paper and serve as desired. The khai jiao goes wonderfully with moo tord or laab gai, for example.
Khai Jiao – Thai Omelett aus dem Wok
Ingredients
- 2 mittelgroße Eier
- 1 EL Wasser
- 1 EL Speisestärke oder Reismehl
- 1 TL Fischsauce
- 1/2 TL Limettensaft
- neutrales Öl zum Braten im Wok (ca. 300 ml)
Instructions
- Alle Zutaten für das Omelett mit einem Schneebesen verquirlen bis keine Klumpen der Speisestärke mehr sichtbar sind.
- Ein ca. 3cm tiefe Schicht des Öls im Wok bis zum Rauchpunkt erhitzen.
- Den Omelett Teig dann aus ca. 30 cm Höhe in das Öl gießen. Der Teig wird sofort fluffig.
- Nach 15 bis 20 Sekunden das Omelet vorsichtig im Öl wenden und nochmal für die gleiche Dauer braten.
- Schließlich mit einem Abschäumer aus dem Öl nehmen, auf Küchenpapier abtropfen lassen und nach Wunsch servieren.
Notes
Dazu passende folgende Rezepte:
Laab Gai, Moo Tord und Pulled Pork Curry Reis. Nur mit Reis und Chilisauce serviert ergibt das auch ein tolles eigenständiges Gericht.
