As a frequent visitor to Chiang Mai, Thailand I've seen many unusual things over the years, but one of the most unusual, and a must see on your next trip to Chiang Mai, is the man who fries chicken by dipping his bare hands in boiling oil.
Kann Trichan, who is 51-years-old, only discovered his talent a few years ago. He's fried chicken for decades at a street stall he owns in Chiang Mai. Chicken is popular all over Thailand, with a typical fried chicken stall selling a few hundred pieces a day, so most stall owners stand close to the oil and work fast. That proximity to the boiling oil was how Kann found out he had hands of iron.
While working his usual shift, a squirrel in a tree knocked a mango right into the hot oil Kann was working over, and Kann's face, arms and hands were splashed with boiling oil.
Kann went home with the idea he'd see his doctor in the morning but, when he woke up, he was in for a shock. Where there should have been burns, blisters and open sores, all he could see were a few red marks.
So, Kann went back to his stall and experimented by sticking his hands in the boiling oil. The temperature of the oil is 480 degrees centigrade, yet all Kann could feel was the heat. Again, no burns, no blisters, and no open sores.
Since then, Kann Trichan has not only become famous throughout Thailand, but he's a Guiness World Record holder too, as the man who could pick the most pieces of hot chicken out of boiling oil in a minute.
Kann is also one of Chiang Mai's most famous tourist stop-offs, as not only do you get to watch the man at work (and it truly is amazing), but you eat some pretty tasty chicken too.
Of course, some people think it's "unhygienic" the way Kann cooks the chicken, but nothing could be further from the truth. The heat of the oil kills any bacteria, just about instantly, so it's no more unhygienic than using tongs or a spatula. It saves on the washing up too.
You can find Kann cooking chicken most days of the week at his stall in a small soi (lane), across from Chiang Mai Technical College. Just take a songtaw, (a red open-sided pickup truck taxi) or a tuk-tuk, and look for Kann opposite the college. His stall is basic, and he and his wife only sell chicken and sticky rice, served with a sweet, spicy sauce, but it's well worth eating lunch there, for the food and the entertainment.
