Ayutthaya Original · Sugar-Thread Wrap

Roti Sai Mai (Cotton Candy Roti)

Photo: Takeaway / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

The fine sugar threads are made by repeatedly pulling cooked sugar with roasted flour, the same basic method as Persian pashmak floss.

Hand-pulled threads of sugar candy are wrapped inside thin, pliable roti sheets, which are often tinted green with pandan. Stalls, especially in Ayutthaya, sell the roti and the sugar threads in separate bags so buyers roll their own.

Why it's made this way: The recipe traces back to Indian Muslim traders who introduced it to the old capital of Ayutthaya, and it has remained a fixture of Thai roadside and night-market stalls ever since.