Son In Law Eggs

Son In Law Eggs, or ‘khai luuk kheuy’ is a salad made from deep-fried hard boiled eggs, which have been cut into halves or quarters, and topped with a sour & sweet tamarind sauce and fried shallots. I’ve heard many stories as to the origin of this dish’s name… but they all conflict. I’ll ask around here in Thailand and see if I can get the real story and get back to you.

Ingredients

4 eggs, hard-boiled and shelled
1/2 cup evenly-sliced shallots
10 small dried chilies
1/2 cup tamarind paste, which you make from 1/4 cup tamarind + 1/2 cup warm water
3 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce or white soy sauce
1/4 cup coriander leaves

Directions

Boil the eggs: put the eggs in cold/room temp water on the stove, and make sure they are at least 1″ under the surface of the water. Bring to boil and boil for 7 minutes on medium-high. Don’t do a rolling boil, or the shells will crack. When finished, switch the water with cool water and leave for a few minutes to cool down. When cooled, peel and set aside for frying.
While the eggs are boiling, you can start with the rest of the steps. First is to dry-roast the chilies. Take the chilies and put them in a pan on medium-high and toss every few seconds. The air might get a bit spicy so make sure you have a window open or a fan on or something. Brown on each side and set aside.
Now you can make the sauce. Start by creating the tamarind paste out of the tamarind and hot water. Squeeze it in a small bowl with your fingers until you’re left with a paste and seeds/fibers. Remove the seeds/fibers and then strain the rest to get rid of the bits. Add to a sauce pan.
Heat on low until warm, and add the palm sugar and fish sauce. The palm sugar will melt in the heat. Cook until it’s melted and mixed well, and then simmer on low for about 5 minutes until darker brown. Set aside.
Frying time! In a wok add about 2 tablespoons of oil, and heat to high. Drop in the shallots and stir constantly (don’t stop even for a second or they will burn!) until lightly browned. Strain and remove.
Add a tablespoon more of oil, lower your heat to medium/high, and add your eggs. The recipe is for ‘deep fried’ eggs, but actually you don’t need to waste your oil to submerge them. Just keep turning the eggs so they evenly brown all over. When golden brown, strain and set aside.
Cut your eggs into quarters or halves, and arrange on a plate. Drizzle the sauce on top, and top with the fried shallots, roasted chilies and fresh coriander.