Thai 'Son-in-Law' Eggs

I have been oggling this recipe for a while in my 'Travels with Thai Food'. The boiled eggs are fried in vegetable oil, halved, and topped with a garlic-y tamarind sauce that contains minced mock chicken. Fish sauce brings the flavors together.

This dish takes the name 'son-in-law eggs' because it is considered one of the few things an unskilled cook or husband could make on the spot if the in-laws visited unexpectedly.

Sauce
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup minced chicken (mock chicken in my case)
1 tbs tamarind concentrate plus 3/4 cup water
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
1 small yellow onion
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small red chilli
1/2 tbs ground coriander

Eggs
8 hardboiled eggs
vegetable oil for frying

1. Sautee onion, garlic, chilli, and coriander on high heat until golden.
2. Add the sugar and tamarind and turn the heat down to medium low to lightly caramelize, approximately 3 minutes.
3. Add the water, fish sauce and chicken (mock chicken does not need to be pre cooked, real chicken does)
4. Heat vegetable oil in a deep wok or pan to high. Drop in the hard boiled, peeled eggs, careful not to splash the oil. Allow to fry until deep golden on the outside. Remove with a slotted spoon. Cool on a paper towel.
5. Cut hardboiled eggs in half, spoon heated sauce mixture over top. Garnish with extra diced chilli if desired.

Eggs Benedict

This is the favorite breakfast of someone very special to me. And once you've gotten the hang of it, it's not too difficult to whip it up. There is a certain technique to keeping the egg together, but I'll try to describe it as best as I can, and maybe one of these days I'll get around to a video post.

I think two eggs makes a reasonable serving for eggs benedict, and use three yolks to make the hollandaise sauce. The sauce is good for about two, so the poached eggs will be altogether 4 for two servings. If you're going to make the effort you might as well go all out. Heck, if you're having more guests you can easily make more servings, once you've got the set-up just right.

I especially love the Chesapeake version of this with fresh crabmeat and Old Bay on them, but alas it's not so available in Finland, so I'll do without. Next time I poach eggs I'd like to try to Eggs Florentine, but ok, enough eggs for now.

4 eggs

3 egg yolks (whites removed and reserved)

2 tbs white vinegar

a pinch of salt

3 tbs lemon juice

3 tbs butter

white pepper (optional)

Old Bay (optoinal)

parsley flakes (optional)

1.) Start a pot of water to boil, not filling it to the top. Add about 2 tablespoons (tbs) of white vinegar or lemon juice and salt to the water. Turn the boil down to a simmer. You'll want the water boiling ever so slightly, lest the bubbles disturb the lovely shape of the poached eggs.

2.) Start a second pot of water ready for a double boiler. Add the butter to the top bowl and melt over the double boiler.

2.) Separate the yolks of 3 eggs. You can reserve the whites for something else, freeze them. Sometimes I even poach just the whites and use the yolks for the hollandaise, to be ever so slightly more health conscious. But let's face it, one of the best things of a poached egg is the over easy yolk in the center.

3.) Then, crack one egg to start into a small dish, like a rammekin or a souffle cup.

4.) Make a small whirlpool with a slotted spoon in the simmering water. Bring the rammekin as close to the water as possible, and slide the egg into the water gently. The whirlpool effect of the water should keep the egg in a round shape. Allow the egg to simmer approximately 2 minutes. If there is room in the pot, it is possible to poach 2 eggs at one time, but be careful not to break the eggs while they are poaching.

5.) Meanwhile, add the egg yolks to the melted butter on the double boiler. Stir continuously until mixed. Add the lemon juice and seasonings, and continue stirring until the mixture thickens and the mixture becomes more opaque. If you stop stirring at some point, take the bowl off the double boiler to avoid the yolk hardening and making a lumpy hollandaise.

6.) After 2 minutes of poaching the egg, lift out of the water with a slotted spoon and allow as much water as possible to drain off of the egg.

7.) Serve poached eggs on toast or a butter milk biscuit and top with hollandaise sauce. This may also be good with slender asparagus stalks, fresh spinach, or a number of other ingredients.

Sweet Potato Spinach Quiche

The reason I love quiche is obvious- it's so easy to make and hardly ever turns out badly. You can make a number of infinite combinations of ingredients in a quiche and have it turn out well. Just try it for yourself. The other reason to love quiche? The crust, I guess, if you make it the way I do, loaded with butter.

• 
  
  1 pie crust
• 
  
  2 tbs olive oil
• 
  
  1 red onion, sliced
• 
  
  1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced thinly
• 
  
  2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 
  
  4 eggs
• 
  
  1/2 cup cream
• 
  
  frozen spinach (I used about 90g)
• 
  
  spices (coriander, cilantro, mustard seed, parsely, salt and pepper)
• 
  
  grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle

1. 
   
   Preheat the oven to 175C. Set some salted water to boil and add the slices of sweet potato and allow to soften, approximately 10 minutes (depending on how thinly you sliced them). Drain
2. 
   
   Meanwhile, roll the pie crust out thinly and shape it to the quiche dish. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. 
   
   Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic, onion, and spices. Let the onion soften and the spices become fragrant.
4. 
   
   Add the spinach and stir until thawed and combined.
5. 
   
   While the spinach is cooking, in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper together.
6. 
   
   Layer half the slices of sweet potato in the pie crust, top with the spinach and onion mixture, and layer the remaining slices of sweet potato.
7. 
   
   Pour the egg mixture over everything. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of grated parmesan.
8. 
   
   Bake quiche for approximately 45 minutes or until set and golden brown.
9. 
   
   Allow to cool slightly  before slicing.

Also, this quiche is good eaten cold, if, like me, you don't have a microwave and have the midnight munchies!