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Thai Fried Egg Salad – Yam Khai Dao (ยำไข่ดาว)

By on December 1, 2009 in She Deglutenizes, She Drizzles and Smears, She Fries, She Thais, She Tosses, She Veges

thai recipe
Invariably, Yam Khai Dao (ยำไข่ดาว) or Thai fried egg salad is made out of fried chicken or duck eggs. I prefer to use quail eggs. When you use fried chicken or duck eggs, each fried egg needs to be cut into quarters to make it easier to eat. Once the quartered fried eggs are tossed in the dressing along with the other ingredients, the yolks get separated from their whites since they’ve been cut open. It’s not the worst thing in the world, and some people even prefer that since some the integrated yolks get mixed into the dressing which makes the dressing a bit creamier. I don’t.

I like each bite of this salad to be a perfect bite. This means each bite comprises a well-seasoned fried egg — naturally bite-sized — with the creamy yolk and the crispy-tender white together. The only way to achieve this is to use very small eggs so you won’t have to cut them up. Quail eggs are perfect for this.

Aesthetically, this also improves the salad. No messy, disintegrated fried eggs.

thai fried eggs
The only thing about this salad that takes any effort at all is the frying of the quail eggs. Cracking 24 tiny, tiny eggs can be a pain in the neck.

The frying isn’t that complicated, though. Fill an 8-inch nonstick skillet with about 1/2 cup of oil and put it over medium heat. You can fry 3-4 quail eggs at a time this way.

thai salad recipe
Thai Fried Egg Salad (Yam Khai Dao ยำไข่ดาว)
Serves 2
Printable Version

thai egg salad
2 dozens quail eggs
1/4 medium red onion or 2 large shallots, sliced thinly
Half an English cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly (optional)
2 plum tomatoes, halved then cut into 1/4-inch slices (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar
2-3 fresh bird’s eye chilies, finely chopped
About 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

  • Fry the quail eggs until the bottoms are crispy and the whites thoroughly cooked. If you want the yolks cooked, flip the eggs and continue to fry until the tops are just as crispy as the bottoms. Remove the eggs from the pan and place them on a paper towel-lined plate.
  • In the meantime, make the dressing by mixing together the lime juice, fish sauce, and chilies.
  • Arrange the fried eggs (and, if desired, tomato slices and the cucumber slices) on a serving plate. Strew the red onion slices all over the top.
  • Drizzle the dressing all over the eggs. Top with cilantro leaves and serve immediately.
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Chicken Satay Sandwich with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber-Onion-Pepper Relish

By on November 13, 2009 in She Drizzles and Smears, She Grills, She Simmers, She Thais

chicken satay recipe
This is just a simple sandwich in which all components of a typical satay meal served in Thailand, i.e. bread, grilled marinated meat, peanut sauce, and cucumber-onion relish, are represented. (Added October 3rd, 2012: Perhaps this is where I should invite you to read my post on how to eat satay before proceeding.)

Although the kind of bread served as part of a satay set in Thailand is always soft, white, and grilled, in this case we need the kind of bread that’s strong enough to hold all the fillings and the sauce. Ciabatta rolls work quite well. They can be toasted or not, depending on what you like.

chicken satay recipe
Chicken breasts are marinated in the same way as the shrimp in my shrimp satay recipe post. The peanut sauce is courtesy of Mom; you can find the recipe in my post on easy Thai peanut sauce.

chicken satay sandwich
All you have to do is to marinate the chicken, grill it, slice it, and set it aside. Arrange the ajat or cucumber-onion relish on a split roll. Place the chicken slices on the ajat. Drizzle some peanut sauce on top. Close the sandwich. Enjoy.

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How to Make Jaew แจ่ว – Thai Dried Chilli Dipping Sauce

By on June 28, 2009 in She Deglutenizes, She Drizzles and Smears, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Thais, She Uncooks, She Veges

nam jim jaew
In Thailand, when you buy Gai Yang (grilled spatchcocked chicken) or Mu Ping (Skewered grilled pork), the vendor almost always gives you two kinds of Nam Jim or dipping sauces to take home along with the grilled protein. One, of course, is the indispensable sweet and tangy chilli sauce; the other is one of the many varieties of the smokier, less sweet dipping sauce, Jaew (แจ่ว).

Though not as well known internationally as its sweeter cousin, Jaew is no less a favorite among Thais. This explains why two kinds of dipping sauces accompany every grilled meat purchase — to eliminate the agony which customers would otherwise have to go through in choosing one or the other.

It’s difficult to pin down the definitive Jaew recipe since every family has their own way of making it. One thing, however, remains constant: just as the sweet chilli sauce is always made of fresh red chillies, Jaew is always made with dried red chillies. Traditionally, the chillies are lightly toasted over open flame and pounded into tiny flakes. Fresh galangal, another traditional ingredient, is prepared the same way. Then, true to its northeastern origin, toasted rice powder is also a required ingredient in many family recipes. The herbs and aromatics then go into a mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, and sometimes palm sugar. As you can see, Jaew, for all intents and purposes, is the dressing for Laab (Larb or Lahb) – (ลาบ) even though most people wouldn’t see it that way.

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Thai Dried Chilli Dipping Sauce (น้ำจิ้มแจ่ว)
 
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Recipe type: Condiment, Sauce
Serves: Makes approximately one cup
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced shallots
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • ½ teaspoon galangal powder, optional
  • ⅓ cup fish sauce
  • Juice of one lime
  • 2 teaspoons grated palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon of toasted rice powder (Khao Khua ข้าวคั่ว)
  • 1 tablespoon of dried red pepper flakes (coarsely ground).
Instructions
  1. Mix everything together in a bowl.
  2. Adjust the taste with more fish sauce, lime juice, or sugar, if necessary. The sauce should be predominantly sour and salty.
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