Kai yang or gai yang (, , ), also known as kai ping or gai ping (), or pīng kai (, ), is a Lao dish originating in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, but it is now commonly eaten throughout the whole of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The dish is a standard staple of street markets and readily available at all times. The town of Seno in Savannakhet,

is renowned for its flavorful and tender ''Ping kai Xeno'' or ''Xeno grilled chicken''; the dish has earned official recognition as Savannakhet’s symbol and culinary legacy. Ping kai Xeno is also a National One District One Product (ODOP) Trademark. The Association of Xeno Grilled Chicken, formed in 2016, has developed a comprehensive set of rules and regulations for all Ping kai Xeno to protect its economic interests and culinary tradition. They include the requirement that all Ping Kai Xeno be prepared using only chicken from the Xeno areas and its unique marinating and grilling techniques. Being a typical Laotian dish, it is often paired with green papaya salad and

sticky rice Sticky may refer to: Adhesion *Adhesion, the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another *Sticky mat, an adhesive mat used in cleanrooms to lessen contamination from footwear *Sticky note, a generic term for a Post-it Note ...

(Thai/Isan: ข้าวเหนียว, ; , ) or eaten with sticky rice in bamboo ( khao lam in Lao). It is also eaten with raw vegetables, and often dipped in spicy sauces such as Laotian jaew bong. In Thailand, there are also many famous Thai Muslim varieties of ''kai yang'' which are not of Lao origin at all, but more akin to the grilled chicken from

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Names

The Laotian name for the dish is pīng kai () and means "roast chicken". In Laotian restaurants in the West, it is known as "Laotian barbecued chicken" or "ping gai". The Thai and Isaan term is usually spelled ไก่ย่าง (''kai yang''; Isan: ), although ปิ้งไก่ (''ping kai''; Isan: ), a Thai letter rendering of the Laotian name, would be understood in Isan and most of Thailand as well although to Thai ears it would sound a bit quaint, due to the slight grammatical difference between Thai and Laotian. Thais would put ''kai'' before ''ping'' rather than the other way round. In the West, where this dish often features on the menu of Thai restaurants, it is either known by its Thai name ''kai yang'' or as "Thai barbecued chicken".

Ingredients and preparation

A whole chicken is often halved and pounded flat. It is marinated and then grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame for a long time, but is not cooked to be burnt or dry. The

marinade Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. This sauce, called the marinade, can be either acidic (made with ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, or wine), or enzymatic (made with ingredien ...

typically includes

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

root (cilantro), and white pepper. Many variations exist, and it is also quite common to find black soy sauce,

hoisin sauce Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce originating in China. It features in many Chinese cuisine, Chinese cuisines, but is most prominent in Cantonese cuisine. It can be used as a glaze (cooking technique), glaze for meat, an addition to stir fr ...

, shallots, leaves and seeds of

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

, chilis,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar may be qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed simila ...

, and MSG.

References

* Tan, Terry. (2007). ''The Thai Table: A Celebration of Culinary Treasures.'' Marshall Cavendish. * Brissenden, Rosemary. (2007). Southeast Asian food: Classic and Modern Dishes from Indonesia, Malaysia, Tuttle Publishing. * McDermoot, Nancie. (1992). Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking. Chronicle Books. {{Chicken dishes, state=collapsed Isan cuisine Chicken dishes Barbecue Street food Lao cuisine

Names

Ingredients and preparation

See also

References