Burmese golden egg curry

An egg curry is often overlooked on the dinner table in preference for another protein, but I love eggs and egg curries. The combination of spices, the creamy yolk and soft whites is something I crave. As a cook’s tip, I never refrigerate an egg after boiling it. Cooling a boiled egg white tends to harden it, making it sticky and chewy rather than soft. I keep them at room temperature as long as you use them the same day. This is one of the secrets to a perfect deviled egg. This is a super simple recipe that tastes delicious. I serve it as a traditional curry with rice, but more recently, I have been serving it as an appetizer. The crisp eggs are a perfect combination with the tangy tomato sauce and creamy yolk, and they really do not need a carbohydrate present. It is a wonderful confluence of flavours on your palate.

This is my favourite cookbook for Burmese cuisine. It has wonderful, well-researched recipes from all across Myanmar, and I come back to it often. I also have most of Naomi Daguid’s other cookbooks and absolutely admire her work, writing, and all the travel and research she puts into every one of her books.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon oil

3-4 shallots, sliced finely

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1-2 green chillies, cut in circles

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 lb tomatoes, diced

A few drops of fish sauce

Salt to taste

Cilantro, minced

While the eggs are boiling, heat the oil in a pot and add the shallots, garlic, and green chillies. Sauté on medium heat until the onions are cooked through and translucent, about 5 minutes; do not brown.

Add the chilli powder and turmeric and sauté for 15 seconds. Add the tomatoes and salt, bring the mix to a gentle simmer, and cook until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce for about 12-15 minutes. Mix in the fish sauce and taste. Adjust salt and seasonings as per your desire. You can choose to keep the curry in either of two consistencies. I keep it runny if I serve it traditionally with rice on the side. However, I have been also serving it as an appetizer, for this I cook the curry down to a very thick sauce so the flavors are concentrated. Add the oil for the eggs to a frying pan on high heat. Add the turmeric and eggs, rolling them around in the pan so they get coated with the oil and turn a wonderful golden colour. Do not let them overcook, as they will brown quickly. I also wanted to cook the eggs after they were halved. Remove the eggs from the pan and cool. Cut in half. Heat the pan back to high and place the eggs cut side down, and let them fry in the pan for 1 minute. You want this to be fast as you do not wish to the yolk to start disintr]grating into the pan. Remove and store the yolk side up. As a tip, when frying the whites, do not let them sit for too long; shake them frequently, or you will get uneven crispness on the surface, as evidenced in my photograph. Serve as a curry by ladling the curry to the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add the eggs on top, some with the golden whites facing upwards and some with the yolks facing upwards. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. To serve as an appetizer, add the thickened sauce to the bottom of a small bowl. Top with an egg, some yolk up and some whites up, and add a cilantro bud.