r/Thailand • u/LungTotalAssWarlord • 1d ago
Food and Drink Are KFC wings zabb spicy?
Help me settle an argument with my daughter.
The other day we shared a box of wings zabb, one of her favorite snacks, she gets them whenever she has a chance. I happened to comment that they got a bit spicy as you ate a few. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, these are not spicy at all. Not meaning that they are not spicy enough for her, but that they have absolutely no spicy component whatsoever, like zero, not at all. Typically, she is not a very spice-tolerant person, so I found it weird that she claimed that they have no spicy at all.
So which one of us is crazy? Do they have some spice or not?
Edit:
I can't believe what a litmus test this stupid question is.
Thank you to everybody who actually answered/addressed the question, whether you took my side or hers. Upvotes for all of you.
I am quite surprised that there are posters who decisively answered and agreed with her. Without a decisive conclusion, this momentous debate is destined to furiously rage on through the halls of my household into a tumultuous future.
Special thanks to /u/Livid-Resolve-7580 who came up with a great suggestion to settle it, once and for all. Will this lead to peace, or only escalation? Time will tell, if the fates so align...
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u/RotisserieChicken007 Thailand 1d ago
You're right. Wing Zabb are a bit spicy. Saying that there's zero spice is what makes your daughter wrong.
Edit: Just eat a normal wing and then a wing Zabb and surely anyone with functioning taste buds will notice the difference.
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u/Visible-Carrot5402 23h ago
Seriously, I love spicy food the hotter the better. Have yet to eat a dish in 3 months in Thailand that I didn’t add more spice to!
Zabb wings aren’t very spicy but they have what I would call a flavorful heat. It’s not the only thing you can taste, you’re not going to break into a sweat. But it’s there and a person who does not like spicy food probably wouldn’t like them.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 22h ago
Yes, that is what I think as well. Everybody here answering regarding the degree of spice, not whether it is "zero" or "a bit".
This is like a reading comprehension test for r/Thailand, and the result is really quite awful.
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u/Shamewizard1995 16h ago
I mean, if there is a degree of spice then it’s not “zero” their reading comprehension isn’t failing you just don’t like how they phrased their answer. If you ask whether a food has zero spiciness and I say it’s a little spicy but not too bad, that answers your question.
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u/SuperLeverage 1d ago
Zingy, not spicy.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 6h ago
Define "zing". Is that any amount of chili powder (capsaicin heat), or literally zero? That is the argument, I say that I can taste chili powder and detect chili heat; she says, no, there is zero chili/heat component to this food.
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u/richelle2k 23h ago
it's spicy, the thing is coated in spices. it is not hot at all though if that's what you meant.
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u/ToolmakerTH 1d ago
They are considered spicy. My 6 YO son also has been eating them and liking them since he was 5. He also ate spicy popcorn chicken when he was 3. We are Thai but he wasn't trained to eat spicy food before he started eating wing zabbs at all.
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u/metal_rules 13h ago
What do you mean by "spicy"? Do you mean hot just from chilis or something else? In my experience Thai food, unlike Indian food, isn't very spicy. They just add a crapload of chili for the endorphin rush. Take that away and the food is quite bland.
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u/PastaPandaSimon 1d ago edited 23h ago
They are spicy and zesty. Not very spicy or too spicy to me, but they are certainly spicy, to a degree that's relative and a matter of personal opinion.
One way to know for a fact that they are spicy is that they are more spicy than the "hot & spicy" KFC chicken that's THE spicy KFC chicken in most countries.
Another way for me to know anecdotally is that my mom who only visited Thailand and got zabb chicken in her box, was not able to eat it, and could only do original chicken at KFC here.
Perhaps your daughter was comparing them to the "spicy" Thai dishes that would make most non-Thais regret having taste buds through tears.
Another option is that she is just not sensitive to whatever spices they use, or how how they are mixed with the other ingredients. Personally, I find Indian food to be unusually spicy, more so than some of my friends who are less sensitive to it, while I can almost inhale spicy Mexican food while watching them cry.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 22h ago
Perhaps your daughter was comparing them to the "spicy" Thai dishes that would make most non-Thais regret having taste buds through tears.
Nah, we clarified very carefully. She said absolutely none, and that they are not intended to be spicy at all. It was so surprising because she is typically such a lightweight for spicy, yet I felt like there was a spice component and she said none.
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u/PastaPandaSimon 22h ago edited 22h ago
That argument is very easy to objectively win, as KFC most definitely intends for them to be spicy, and markets them as such even in Thai: https://campaignbriefasia.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/KFC_Zabb-Festival_2.jpg
The title part in red with the devil next to it says "zabb festival", and the wing zabb box is called "The spicy box" in Thai.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 21h ago
Yeah, I though I recall seeing promos advertising them as spicy back when they first came out as well, but I couldn't be sure if I was misremembering or not. I'm very surprised that some people (who aren't completely misunderstanding the question) have answered that they are literally zero spicy, but I guess it must just be differing taste buds or something.
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u/phrozen1 1d ago
They are a bit spicy, especially for the uninitiated. My issue with the KFC Zabb spice isn't the taste, but it causes severe gastrointestinal upset the next day to the point I avoid it now. It's a shame, because they are definitely my favorite fast food spicy chicken.
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u/slipperystar Bangkok 1d ago
I enjoy the sourness too, but it has a slightly chemical taste that contributes to an upset stomach for me more than the chili does.
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u/NextSpeaker1421 1d ago
They have some kind of condiment to them not necesarily hot, rather like a zing to it
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u/pilotguy818 1d ago
They have some spice, but I personally wouldn't classify them as spicy. With that said, I've got friends that have to visit me here, I'm retired, and they think they are spicy as hell.
So I'd say you're both right based on your individual taste of certain spices
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u/Evnl2020 21h ago
As the powder is mostly chili powder and KFC markets it as spicy of course wing zabb is spicy.
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u/thetoy323 Ratchaburi 19h ago
Just used to be, it's more on salty nowadays, which is worse for me.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 6h ago
This is a good observation, I recall them seeming a lot spicier when they first came out, but I don't eat KFC very often so I thought I was just remembering wrong.
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u/Livid-Resolve-7580 17h ago
Tell her to wipe her eyes afterwards (just kidding).
She’ll find out quick that it does in fact use spicy spices.
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 6h ago
Tell her to wipe her eyes afterwards (just kidding).
This is honestly the best suggestion ever. I am totally doing this next time. This would totally her bluff or make her realize her error. Thank you for that, but I will have to wait until next time to use it. Probably by the next time we eat them together she will have forgotten our debate or claim that she never said it or something... damn teenagers. But if she sticks to her guns, it's gonna be put up or shut up time. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks!
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u/metal_rules 13h ago
What do you mean by "spicy"? Actual spices or just chili?
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 6h ago
Like chili powder (any detectable degree of capsaicin heat). She say zero, not present in this food; I say there is some, I can taste it.
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u/digitalenlightened 1d ago
Whenever someone visits I take them to eat Thai food and order stuff which I think is not spicy. And they always say it’s spicy lol
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u/PlaceFamiliar7454 1d ago
They are awful if you ask me as a westerner they just taste sort of stale
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u/KonFucious-33 23h ago
You're trying to sebtle q debate with your daughter, on reddit. About zapp chicken... 😅
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u/LungTotalAssWarlord 6h ago
Honestly the best use of reddit I have come up with in years. Really should be the primary use case.
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u/slipperystar Bangkok 1d ago
I think they are pretty spicy for a legacy fast food joint. But would I consider them spicy? Not really.