Whatever the origin of the name, it’s open to the imagination. How do we make them though? Traditionally, these eggs are hard boiled then deep fried and halved before being served in a chili caramel sauce consisting of chilies, tamarind, fish sauce and some sugar. I like to prepare them with a slightly different variation in the chili sauce, using the sweet chili sauce commonly used for dipping and adding fried shallots to it. The sauce is fairly recognizable from its light reddish, almost orange, hue and speckled bits of chili. I don’t have a brand preference but finding these in your local Asian grocery store should not be a problem.
The tedious part in preparing Son-in-Law Eggs is boiling the eggs, shelling them, then deep-frying them to create the crispy outer layer, while keeping them intact. So you’ll want a non-stick pan. Once you’re past that stage, it’s relatively easy mixing together the sweet chili sauce and shallots. As for the fried shallots, you can either fry them yourselves or buy them in bulk from the store. I prefer to buy them. They have a long shelf life and come in handy for topping other things such as Chinese greens in oyster sauce.
Now I know it’s hard to see the eggs under all those mint leaves but they’re there! I was in inspiration mode and wanted to decorate them like the high class chefs do with their masterpieces. So indulge me my little fantasy and look past the leaves. It’s there, I promise you!
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Son-in-Law Eggs
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled
- 2 tablespoons fried shallots
- 1 stalk cilantro / mint leaves (optional)
Chili sauce:
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Pan fry the eggs until they are browned on all sides. Drain on paper towels and set aside
- Once they have cooled off, cut the eggs into halves, yielding four halves
- In another saucepan over medium high heat, saute garlic until fragrant
- Add in sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, salt and water, stirring to combine
- Simmer the sauce for 2 minutes or until it has thickened slightly
- Arrange the egg halves on a plate and pour the chili sauce over each egg
- Top each egg half with some shallots, garnish with cilantro or mint leaves and serve hot
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Comments & Reviews
Where oh where did you find that sunflower plate?
It was from Pier One!
They’re called ‘son-in-law eggs’ because it was supposedly named after a thinly veiled jest from a Thai mother to her son in law. The dish and preparation (deep frying) is meant to allude to what might happen to this son-in-laws own ‘eggs’ if he mistreats her daughter
That’s really interesting trivia and thanks for sharing. Deep-frying an errant son-in-law is a creative way to threaten them!