Sun-cooked chicken: Roadside dining for 20 years

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Phetchaburi roadside stall made its name with solar-cooked chicken, saves on electricity but have to eat dinner before sun goes down.

COOKING & SOALR POWER

Sun-cooked chicken: Phetchaburi roadside dining for 20 years

26/04/2017
Chaiwat Satyaem

For 20 years the owner of this small roadside restaurant, Sila Sutharat, has grilled chicken and pork using only the power of sunlight.

His solar cooker is a reflecting panel fitted with hundreds of small mirrors - an idea he says he came up with by himself.

Mr Sila, now aged 60, has a food stall at the Kloom Sakae three-way junction in tambon Nong Sano.

DREAMING UP SOLAR CHICKEN: PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION

Long ago, he grilled his chicken and pork over a charcoal fire, like most other vendors.

And then, one day in 1997, he was sitting at his stall and watching buses and other vehicles pass by his food stall.

It occurred to him how hot he felt when the glass windows on the vehicles reflected sunlight directly at him.

He began experimenting, placing mirrors on a panel, trying to reflect the sunlight onto a small area.

100 MIRRORS FOCUS SUNLIGHT ON CHICKEN

Then he built a curved iron frame and attached about 1,000 3x5 inch mirrors to it.

The panel and mirrors are adjusted to focus the sunlight on the frame on which chicken and pork are grilled.

Cooking hot dogs at the beach using a solar cooker (Source: Wikipedia)

AT 312 DEGREES CENTIGRADES, 12 MINUTES TO COOK A CHICKEN

Mr Sila said his solar cooker generates temperatures as high as 312°C.

It can cook a 1.2 kilogramme chicken in just 12 minutes.

The roasted meat sends out a savoury smell and its skin is crispy.

Students cooking with umbrellas at a science fair (Source: Wikipedia)

SUNLIGHT COSTS NOTHING, NON-POLLUTING, BUT CAN'T GRILL AT NIGHT

He said the best times for solar grilling are 7-10am and 2-5pm.

And the best part is, sunlight costs nothing.

The simple technology is completely sustainable and clean - unlike fossil fuels or natural gas or charcoal and coal, which are all costly, pollute the air and are natural resources that are being depleted and slowly becoming scarce.

HONORARY DEGREE IN SCIENCE FROM RAJABHAT UNIVERSITY

Phetchaburi Rajabhat University has acknowledged his wisdom and awarded him an honorary degree in science.

Mr Sila's roadside stall is a huge attraction for tourists, and local people (locals).

And his children are very proud of him.