Khai Jiao
Crispy, puffed Thai omelette over rice with chili sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 Egg
- 1 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 Scallions
- 4 tbsp Neutral oil
- 300 g Jasmine rice (optional)
- ½ Lime (optional)
- 2 tbsp Sriracha (optional)
Method
- Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear, then cook it with your usual rice-to-water ratio until fluffy. Keep it covered and warm while you make the omelette.
- Beat the eggs hard with the fish sauce, lime juice, and scallions until light and frothy.
- Pour the egg into very hot oil so it puffs and crisps at the edges, then flip and cook through.
- Drain the omelette on paper towel and serve over the jasmine rice with sriracha on the side.
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About Khai Jiao
Khai jiao is the Thai omelette, and it bears little resemblance to the folded French kind. Beaten hard with fish sauce until frothy, then poured into shimmering-hot oil, the eggs puff up and crisp into a golden, ragged-edged pancake that's the point of the whole exercise. The frothing traps air so it inflates in the pan, and the deep oil gives it lacy, brittle edges against a tender middle. Fish sauce seasons it from within, giving a savoury depth that plain eggs never reach, with scallions and a squeeze of lime cutting the richness.
This is everyday Thai comfort food, the sort of thing eaten over rice at any hour, often as a quick lunch or a plate to round out a larger meal. Served here over jasmine rice with sriracha on the side, it takes barely twelve minutes and asks for almost nothing from the pantry. The lesson worth keeping is the heat: the oil has to be genuinely hot before the egg goes in, or you get a flat, greasy omelette instead of the puffed, crisp one that defines khai jiao.
Khai Jiao: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Khai Jiao?
A serving has about 611 calories — 18.3g protein, 49.1g carbs, 37.8g fat, 1.9g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is Khai Jiao gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Khai Jiao has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
Do I need every ingredient to make Khai Jiao?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out jasmine rice, lime, sriracha — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Khai Jiao make?
This recipe makes 2 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.