Chicken Feet

[baitong]

Boil chicken feet in 'soda fai' or 'baking soda' which is sodium bicarbonate.

[stevexxxx]

oldoldgit

As baitoong said

Jarucha

[oldoldgit]

Thanks Baitoong & Jarucha, Will tell Gade to use Bicarbonate of Soda.

[Pookiesal]

Baking soda is not Soda-Fai.
Soda-Fai is Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as lye or caustic soda and you want to eat?

http://thai-language.com/id/137902

[oldoldgit]

Pookiesal,
Did a Google on Caustic soda after being told to use it, I was very wary as I have used it to strip paint, and Google said it was dangerous stuff, Thanks all the same.

[michael001]

hi my ex wife says she would boil the chicken feet in water adding a litle salt or if she had baking soda that's better as (baitoong) posted

[baitong]

Pookiesal is right about Soda Fai. It is dangerous and should not be eaten in any form. However, some people in Thailand who probably isn't aware of its danger actually use it with chicken feet.

I think Soda Fai is what oldoldgit's wife talked about. But since you know how dangerous it could be, you might want to tell your wife to just boil that yummy chicken feet in water and salt. I have never done it myself as I am not patient enough to take the bones out. I prefer eating it with bones. It's more fun!

[tudor & pim]

Pim says she used to cook with Soda Fai when she had a noodle stall. "Makes the pork very tender. Customers love it."
Looking at the Chicken Feet above was interesting. Confirms they do use caustic soda. The boy working over the basket gets about 20 baht a basket for the product. i wonder what his gums are like now?
Apparently Pim hasn't been able to buy it here. Yet.

[KhunIanB-UK]

I was thinking that instead of using caustic soda you could use lemon scented toilet bleach and save some money not having to add lemon grass.

I have eaten chicken feet and thought OK, though not meal of choice, didn't realise quite how much effort went into the preparation though.

[e.t.v]

no i cant see the attraction either BUT the wife and her mates love em .
i can normally always tell when she has been cooking them as well as the smell when i enter the house is unmistakeable and so is the smell on her breath.
still its better than not tonight i have a headache