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Pa thong ko
Twin fried dough sticks
ปาท่องโก๋: puffy twin dough sticks fried for a Bangkok breakfast and dunked in hot sweet soy milk
Before the shutters go up along Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown, the pa thong ko vendors are already frying: two strips of dough pressed together, stretched and dropped into a wok of oil, where they swell into hollow, crackly sticks shaped a little like a pair of legs. Office workers buy a paper bag on the way to the skytrain and eat them with a cup of hot soy milk, or tear them into pieces and dip them in green pandan custard or condensed milk. This home version is egg-free and dairy-free and is served with sweetened soy milk. Chef's tip: let the dough rest for the full hour; a relaxed dough stretches without tearing and puffs far more in the oil.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
For frying and serving
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor deep-frying
- 3 ¼ cups unsweetened soy milk
- 3 tbsp sugarfor the soy milk
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Whisk 10 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar together in a large bowl.
2 minStep 2: Add ¾ cup lukewarm water and 1 tbsp vegetable oil and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead in the bowl for 2 minutes, just until smooth; longer kneading makes the sticks tough rather than airy.
4 minStep 3: Cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, until the dough is soft and slack and has grown a little.
60 minStep 4: Oil the worktop and press the dough into a rectangle about 8 cm wide and 5 mm thick. Cut it across into strips 2 cm wide.
8 minStep 5: Lay one strip on top of another and press a chopstick firmly down the middle along their length, so the pair sticks together. Pinch the ends.
10 minStep 6: Pour 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil into a deep, heavy pan so it comes no more than a third of the way up the sides. Heat to 375°F on a thermometer, or until a cube of bread browns in about 40 seconds. Never leave the hot oil unattended, and keep children well away from the stove.
10 minStep 7: Take a pair by the ends, stretch it gently to about 15 cm and lower it into the oil. Fry 3 or 4 at a time, turning them constantly with chopsticks, for 2–3 minutes, until puffed, hollow and deep golden all over. Common mistake: oil that is too cool; the sticks soak up fat and stay flat instead of ballooning.
12 minStep 8: Lift out onto kitchen paper and drain. Between batches let the oil come back to 375°F.
Step 9: Warm 3 ¼ cups unsweetened soy milk with 3 tbsp sugar in a pan over a medium heat, stirring, until steaming and the sugar has dissolved. Pour into cups and serve with the hot sticks for dunking.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pa thong ko take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 95 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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