Thai-Style Fried Eggs | Kai Jeow | ไข่เจียว
One of the nice things about knowing the boyfriend for so long is that I generally have a good idea of what makes him happy. And fortunately for me, one of these things is a simple Thai-style fried egg.
I learned to make eggs the Thai way years ago, at a time when I couldn't stand the taste or smell of eggs. Back then, I thought the only way eggs should ever be eaten was in a cake or some other sugary confection that could effectively mask their taste. But, because I knew the boyfriend liked them so much, I put my distaste aside and willingly learned from him how to make Thai-style fried eggs.
From what I can gather (because I haven't really cooked eggs any other way) the main differences between Thai-style fried eggs and classic American eggs are the amount of time you spend whipping them, the heat of the pan you cook them in, and the amount of oil you use to fry them.
You start by beating the eggs with a little fish sauce until they are super frothy. Then you heat an ungodly amount of oil (on the order of a 1/4 cup or more) in a wok until it's so hot it's smoking. You test to see if it's hot enough by dropping a little egg in and watching it sizzle and splatter all over, then throw the rest of the eggs in and cook them until they're just golden brown on the outside, but still nice and fluffy inside. I also generally cook some shallots, peppers, and pork beforehand and throw these in as the egg is cooking.
The goal is to produce eggs that are incredibly fluffy and light on the inside and nice and crispy around the edges. I guess if compared to American eggs, these Thai-style eggs would embody the fluffiness of scrambled eggs and the crispiness of fried eggs.
I've made eggs like this for years without ever knowing what they actually tasted like, just going off the boyfriend's comments about how they turned out. But I have to tell you that recently my egg aversion has started to fade. I'm not sure what exactly changed. I think it's a combination of the wonderful texture of these eggs, the fact that they've got other things in them, and that you get to eat them with a big spoonful of jasmine rice.
In any case, I'm happy to report that I've worked my way up from tasting tiny bites off the boyfriend's plate to actually enjoying my very own plate. And I have to say, it's nice to finally be able to appreciate one of the foods that makes the boyfriend so happy.
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon shallots, sliced thinly
- 1-2 Tablespoons red and green jalapeno peppers, sliced thinly
- 2 Tablespoons ground pork
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon thin soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions:
- Marinate the ground pork with thin soy sauce and ground white pepper while you're preparing the other ingredients.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and add fish sauce. Whisk with a fork quickly until the eggs are very fluffy and light. This should take at least a minute or more.
- Heat a wok to medium high and add a tablespoon of oil. Cook the shallots and peppers until almost tender. Then add the ground pork and cook until it's completely done. Remove from the wok and set aside.
- Turn the heat on the work up to high and add 3-4 more Tablespoons of oil. Wait until it's very hot before adding your beaten eggs. You can test to see if it's ready by letting a drop of egg fall from your fork into the hot oil - if it sizzles and pops furiously, it's ready.
- Swirl the wok so the egg coats the bottom of the pan. Add your cooked meat and vegetables and then mix into the egg. Once it's golden brown on one side, flip and cook on the other side.
- Remove from the pan and eat immediately with fresh jasmine rice.
