I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

January 20, 2012

Son In Law Eggs




I've been meaning to make these for a while now.








The idea of crisp, crunchy eggs paired with a sticky caramel sauce called to me and excited my imagination. I get like that sometimes, and when it happens it is very hard to resist the urge to create it straight away, regardless of ingredients or ability.

Lucky for me these ingredients are pantry staples in our home, and its a very easy recipe to make-despite the fact peeling eggs with one hand is nigh impossible and took a couple of hours!

There's a bit of a mystery surrounding the origin of this recipe. I certainly don't know which, if any, is correct. I'll leave it up to you to decide Dear Reader.

One version claims that Mother-In-Law came to visit unexpectedly, and wife being out, the burden of cooking dinner fell upon unhappy Son-In-Law. Panicing and throwing whatever was available into a pot, he busied himself with the rice, catching the sauce ingredients just on the verge of ruin. With courage born of despair, he served the rice and burnt sauce over the eggs, and thus a legend was created.

The other version paints a very different picture.
Hearing rumours of unpleasant and unacceptable behaviour in her Son-In-Law, Mother-In-Law came to visit. Offering to make dinner and give her long suffering daughter a break, she created a dish with hidden meaning. Excited by the smells of a delicious dinner, cranky Son-In-Law sat down for once in a good mood, only to be confronted by what looked like a very personal part of the male anatomy staring up at him from his plate.
With a wicked grin, she suggested that he treat his wife- her daughter, with a bit more consideration, or next time she visited, she would be frying and slicing very different ingredients...






















Son In Law Eggs

2 Eggs Each

For Serving

Steamed Rice
Deep Fried Shallots
Chopped Fresh Coriander and Mint
Wedge of Lime
Chili Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Palm Sugar
1 tablespoon Tamarind Paste
1 Long Red Chili

Boil eggs to medium. I tried to have soft boiled, but they were just impossible to peel. Ultimitely you want lovely molten centres, but do what you have to do. By the way, older eggs are much easier to peel than fresh.
















For the Chilli Caramel Sauce, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan, along with the finely sliced chilli and tamarind.


















Boil until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce has thickened and caramelised gently.

Pull off the heat and stir in the lime juice and fish sauce.


















While the sauce is cooking, get started on the eggs.

Once they are peeled, make sure they are quite dry then roll them carefully into an inch or so of hot vegetable oil and fry until golden brown and with a crispy skin.
I have seen these made by sliding a raw egg directly into a wok of hot oil, allowing the whites to instantly bubble and crisp, but leaving the yolk lovely and runny. I look forward to trying them this way when I've recovered a bit more dexterity and mobility, but considered in the case of hot oil that discretion is the better part of valour :)


















Cut the now crispy eggs into halves so as to to alarm your diners, or Son-In-Law, and arrange on a bed of steamed rice then drizzle heavily with delicious sauce and pile on fried shallots.
















Served with a wedge of lime and a generous side of mixed corriander and mint to tone down the buzz of the chilli, this is an amazing dish with all the crunch, heat, sweet, sour, salty, fresh zing you should expect from Thai cuisine.

I loved every bite.

It's one of my new favourites and would be perfect for lunch, brunch, dinner, supper, or just a snack. I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do.




So Dear Readers, which version of the story do you think is the true one, and who is the Real Hero?

36 comments:

  1. Arrgghh! The only consolation is that I'll be in Thailand next week and I get to eat this :P Yayy!!

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    1. Oh you lucky thing you!! Any room in your luggage for me?

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  2. What an interesting recipe - one I have never heard of but does sound wonderful! I opt for story #2...think I would feel the same way!

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  3. MMMMMMM,...What special eggs! So stylish & unique too! :)

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  4. oh this is so much fun I am scared of frying items but would love to try:-)

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    1. My first day at work at my last job I was so nervous and accidently dunked my whole finger in the deep fryer- Luckily it wasn't quite up to temperature, but I refuse to be afraid! But you could shallow fry if you just keep turning them :)

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  5. Of course it was the wifes mother, telling her not so considerate son in law to shape up in a way he could understand.

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    1. Of course! Do you want me to give mum a ring- is Osman playing up? :) Wives in our family are perfect!

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  6. Tee-hee-hee. Love the background story! :)

    The recipe looks very good! Again something I'd never have come up with ... :)

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  7. You served a very interesting and delicious recipe, plus a great story..
    Never tryed crispy eggs before, but you give us currage.
    Thanks,
    Judit & Corina

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  8. You crack me up (pun intended!) great post - and a very refreshing take on an egg dish! Thanks for sharing :)
    Claudine

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  9. I love eggs, I've got to give this a go. GG

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    1. I'd never tried crispy deep fried eggs before, but Yummo!

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  10. Hi Intolerant Chef...going to do a link to your Quinoa Breakfast Cereal recipe - thanks for the inspiration! :)Ina

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  11. Hehe I like th second story! That sounds like more fun! ;) gorgeous looking eggs Rebecca!

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    1. Much more fun indeed! Nothing like threatening bodily harm to work up an appetite! :)

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  12. Dear InTolerant Chef,

    This recipe is so good with plain steam rice! It's definitely one of my all time fave comfort foods. Also that 3 crabs brand of fish sauce is the best brand that you can buy! Well done.

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    1. I think it's one of my new comfort foods now too! Three crabs is definitely the best fish sauce I've found.

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  13. What a beautiful dish. I have a recipe for son-in-law eggs and I've been meaning to cook them but haven't yet. You've inspired me! I think the second story is my pick.

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    1. I hope you give it a try, Number 2 is certainly the most popular indeed!

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  14. I like the second version! Mother in laws who scare men with threats to their privates is quite hilarious! Especially when it involves deep frying :)

    I've always wanted to try this dish, agree it would make a great lunchbox addition.

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    1. I only have daughters, if their future husbands aren't kind to them....WATCH OUT!!!!

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  15. Mmm, these look very good and I'd have to be dragged away from them I suspect. I'll have to get past my concerns about deep-frying though, I suppose.

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    1. You only need a small amount of oil in a smaller pan, or you could shallow fry them if you keep turning them around

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  16. Definitely prefer the second version, lol. They look great though, something I would really like to try!

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  17. Holey moley! Does that combo look tantalizing!! I adore Asian cuisines, and this looks right up my alley! Peeling soft boiled eggs IS trickier, for sure! If you have time to share on our new blog hop, Allergy Free Wednesdays, we'd love it!
    http://tessadomesticdiva.blogspot.com/2012/01/allergy-free-wednesdays.html

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  18. Oooh, they look delicious Becca! I love both stories! I struggle with peeling eggs too, as ours are never more than a few days old. I've had better luck with peeling steamed eggs, actually.

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  19. I love eggs!! These look amazing :) bit of coriander and I'm there! What a clever little thing he is :)

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  20. You are such a star for putting up the link. Thank you very much. Hopefully soon we will have a nice collection of all things eggy!

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