Roti sai mai

Roti sai mai (Thai: โรตีสายไหม, pronounced [rōːtīː sǎːj mǎj]; "sai mai"; lit. 'silk rope'),[1] also known as roti-wrapped candy floss or Ayutthaya's cotton candy, is a Southeast Asian dessert from Thailand. Roti sai mai is an Islamic-influenced dessert served by wrapping cotton candy in sweet roti.

Roti sai mai
Unrolled roti sai mai on a plate
CourseDessert
Place of originThailand
Region or stateSoutheast Asia

The rolling floss or cotton candy is thin, silky strings of spun sugar, found in a variety of hues. The roti (flatbread) is very thin and made from white or colored flour; green flour colored using pandan leaves. Sesame is often sprinkled on the top.

History
A street vendor making roti sai mai in Uttaradit, Thailand

Origins

The recipe was initially brought to the Ayutthaya Kingdom by Muslim traders, who produced and marketed the sweet among communities. The tasty dessert was commonly sold at roadside booths in both the city and the countryside.

Coin-operated roti sai mai

In the 1980s and 1990s, "coin-operated" roti sai mai could be found in markets. These sellers had small bicycles equipped with coin boxes on the backs. Customers would drop a 10 baht coin through the slot, and a rotating dial would spin, cycling through the numbers 3–7. The number the dial ended on was the number of pieces of roti sai mai the customer would get. This popular marketing gimmick allowed customers to "try their luck", and earn more pieces for the same coin. Customers could also just buy pieces at the normal price.

Nowadays, these coin-operated sellers are extremely rare.[2]

International marketing

One difficulty with the mass-marketing of roti sai mai is its limited shelf life. The dough and floss candy must be consumed within a few days, or the dessert's flavour will degrade, and it will spoil not soon after. The company Candy Crepe, founded by Jainnisa Kuvinichkul, collaborated with the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand to increase the dessert's shelf-life. Their product has a shelf life of 6–12 months without the use of chemical additives.[3]

References
  1. "Sai mai". Thai-language.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  2. "ใครเกิดทัน! โรตีสายไหมหยอดเหรียญ ขนมยุค 80 – 90(มีคลิป)". www.sanook.com/news (in Thai). Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  3. "Innovating a traditional Thai dessert to satisfy international taste buds". Techsauce (in Thai). Retrieved 2022-10-27.
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