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Michelin Cotton Candy
episode • Hidden Gems • cooking • 45m
PG
episode • Hidden Gems • cooking • 45m
PG
Most people visit Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, for its historical sites. But something else also attracts crowds to the Thai city: a sweet snack called roti sai mai.
"Anyone who goes to Ayutthaya has to get roti sai mai. It’s a must," says Bangkok-born Aum Phithakphon, the owner of Thai cafe Udom House in West Melbourne. "I ate it as a child, and my mum always ate it too. It’s for every age group. It's a very good snack."
Anyone who goes to Ayutthaya has to get roti sai mai. It’s a must.
The bright, striking coloured roti sai mai looks deceptively simple; paper-thin roti wrapped around fairy floss. But there's more to it than meets the eye.
The fairy floss is made by simmering and spinning sugar, then mixing it with oil and flour before stretching it by hand (with the help of pegs), until it becomes silky threads. It's a technique that requires skills, strength and time, with some similarities to noodle-making.
The roti is made with wheat flour, salt, water and oil (and sometimes other ingredients like tapioca flour, rice flour, egg, milk and coconut milk). The thick and sticky dough is spread thinly in the shape of a circle on a griddle, and cooked into a roti that is soft in the middle, with slightly crispy edges.
Phithakphon says she loves the original roti sai mai, which is white roti rolled around light brown fairy floss. It’s also common for the roti to be mixed with sesame seeds or pandan, which gives it a recognisable green shade. You’ll also see roti and fairy floss sporting the colours of the rainbow, infused with flavours like strawberry, banana and taro.
The roti and fairy floss are usually served separately so customers can roll their own roti sai mai.
"I'm a carb-lover so I use two pancakes to roll the floss, but some people love the floss more. I think it's the aroma in the dough and the texture of the floss that makes a great roti sai mai," says Phithakphon.
It's the aroma in the dough and the texture of the floss.
It keeps for a few days, but it's best to eat it straight away. "It's better when it's been freshly cooked, and the roti is warm."
It's believed that roti was brought to Thailand by immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, and the Muslim Ayutthaya community popularised roti sai mai. You can now find roti sai mai across the country, with Ayutthaya remaining the roti sai mai epicentre. Dozens of stalls sell the snack around the city and on the highway to Bangkok. Some of the stall owners have been in business for decades, still attracting long queues of hungry customers.
Roti sai mai had a bit of a moment a couple years ago when Lisa, from the K-pop group Blackpink, posted an Instagram story of herself rolling a roti sai mai.
In Australia, roti sai mai is harder to find, but you can sometimes get it at Thai Town in Melbourne and at Thanon Khaosan in Sydney (made by Thai Chanok).
