Whaaa here come another papaya salad post. I just can't stop eating them! (and the reason why I can't stop sharing..) It's that good that I wanna insist enough so that next time you come to Thailand, you know what to look for. Anyways, this is a new place we just found out about and surprisingly like, 2 mins drive from the house. We just had never stopped by and try until recently. After we gave it a shot though, we're there like, 2-times a week, no kidding!
Stinky papaya salad..? No it's Umami!
My boyfriend used to not like Somtam or 'spicy green papaya salad', because it normally contains some fermented fish sauce (sometimes come with the fermented whole little fish #lol he just couldn't stand the fact), after being together with a Thai girlfriends for years, he started to adjust and perhaps, like it.. Well, he should. If you have it enough, you come to realize it's another umami flavors you can find in a few certain types of food. This stinky fish sauce is one of them.
Talking about Umami though, I have watched a Youtube video the other day explaining about this flavors. Not sure if you've heard, but it's something that's not sweet, salty, sour, or nothing at all but when combined with other flavors or put in any dishes, it create that unique taste they call 'Umami' more like, next level of deliciousness. I was surprised after they name a few kinds of food that has umami flavor.. (anything with MSG, really), ketchup, fish sauce, fermented fish sauce, Japanese stinky soy (nutto), and the list goes on. Seems like each country has their own unique umami ingredients. I think that's amazing and I love the variety this world has to offer!
The famous rotisserie chicken
What's so special about this place besides being located so close to where we live? They got one of the best & famous rotisserie chickens to offer. This is almost like a chicken rotisserie franchise (not that big of a KFC or McDonald's franchise. This is smaller and local!) and combined with their own papaya salad shop.
How is it so different from others though, you asked. It's marinade with honey as one of the ingredients. I guess it's marinaded long enough that all the flavors really soaked in onto the meat so it's flavorful through out the whole chicken. Honey also breakdown the muscle (might be just my dummy theory) so the whole thing is soft and tender. Long grilled and equally cooked and bamn, not only tastes good but smells smokily great with just the right texture.
Also served with their secret recipe sauce. It's sour, spicy and a little sweet. One of the ingredients is tamarind so sure gives a unique flavor!
Secret combination
If I haven't told you already, it's best combination exist. Papaya salad for the heat! Spiciness, sourness, sweetness and all the flavors with a meaty well marinated meat (could be chicken, beef, pork, whatever suits your liking best), a soft sticky rice or steamed rice.. Yes, totally can have this for days without getting too bored.
We ordered exactly just that but for papaya salad, beside a regular one, we also ordered ones with raw shrimps, and raw crabs.. No, it's never enough with just raw fish nahh.. #lol
This place is Jane, rotissery chicken in Chaloenphrakiat, Saraburi, Thailand. Gotta say it's not one of those places you would normally go like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and all that. It's totally not a touristic area. Not quite sure if this is that easy to get to but I mean, if one day you pass by it on the way going to Isaan or something, I think it's worth stopping by and try some goodiess.
This whole meal cost 320THB or $9 or 15 HIVE currently. I think that's super affordable! It's a meal for 3 people too what you see here.