Thai Cook Fries His Own Hands, Doesn’t Get Burned

Kann “Superhands” Trichan got the cool nickname for his incredible ability of scooping pieces of chicken from burning-hot oil with his bare hands.

The 50-year-old Chiang Mai-based street cook can sink his fingers into 480 degrees hot grease without getting so much as a blister on his hands, and his amazing ability has won him international fame. People from all over the world come to his “Fried Chicken Iron Hands Man” food stall to see Kann use his hands to scoop out the chicken and he and his wife travel the globe showing off his gift. Superhands has no idea why he can do what he does, but he’s just happy it brings more and more customers for his business, every day.

Kann Trichan first discovered his unusual gift seven years ago, when he accidentally got hot oil splattered all over his body. While attending his giant woks, he noticed a squirrel eating a mango on a branch just above him. The squirrel dropped the big fruit right in the oil splattering it all over Kann’s body and head. A taxi took him home and when he got up the next day ready to go see a doctor, he took a look in the mirror only to see he had no burns. The redness was fading away and his skin was practically intact, so he just decided to go back to work, to the astonishment of his fellow street vendors.

Photo by Bronek Kaminski/Barcroft Media

From there on, his reputation grew, and everyone wanted to see the man who survived a shower of hot oil without a single burn. Trichan began experimenting and noticed he was able to use his bare hands to handle the pieces of chicken in hot oil so he decided to use it to attract customers. They were loving it and business was booming. Seven years later, Kann Trichan is still operating his food stall in front of the Chang Mai technical college, surrounded by curious tourists wanting to see his hands dipped in boiling grease.

Kann Trichan also holds the Guinness Record for picking 20 pieces of chicken from oil heated to 480 degrees Celsisus, in just one minute. He says he can feel the oil is hot when he dips his hands in it, but it simply leaves no mark. Scientists have yet to unravel this peculiar gift.