How did this dish come about, no one really knows but i would like to thank who ever came up with the idea. Deep fried eggs with a sweet, sour and salty sauce … YUM!

There are two main versions of how this dish emerged. One is that the mother went to her son in laws house while her daughter was away to have dinner. Embarrassed that he had nothing to serve her, he quickly went to the pantry and put together what he could and the son in law eggs were invented. Maybe next time my mother in law comes over i should only have a few items in the fridge and see what i come up with like i am competing for Chopped or something. The second version is that the the newly wed couple came over for dinner and the mother served him this dish. He was not being a very good husband and she told him to pull his act together or the eggs will be replaced with something a little more private resembling the egg shape. I like both stories but who knows.

While in Thailand i decided to give this dish a try. I headed down to the market to pick up some ingredients and this is when I first discovered in infamous Pink Egg. In Thailand at the markets they soak local free roaming “street” chicken in a mixture of water and turmeric so you are able to distinguish the difference between the local chickens as it gives them an orange hue. I though that perhaps they might have done this with the pink egg. I was wrong and this was not the case. They are a type of preserved egg mixed with clay, lime, salt, rice husk and ash. They have been doing this for hundreds of years and from what i have heard the ones in the market have been preserved for a few weeks, or at least the vendor i was speaking with. I have to admit that i was not brave enough to try it. I was explained what it was and decided to pass, after all this was my first week in Thailand and i still had a “western” stomach at this point. When i got back i researched what i might expect from the taste and after a few food blogs had written “it smelled like ammonia,” “It was like black flavourless jelly” and my favourite “it looked like oozing rotten aubergine” I felt i had made the right choice.

Anyways, lets get back on track here with these delicious son in law eggs. Most Thai cooking is trying to hit the sweet, salty and sour taste buds all in one bite. As you cook more thai food or if you already have been you will notice that you will probably tend to lean towards some flavours more than others. For me I tend to stay away from the sweet. I always add less sugar and more fish sauce on somedays and more lime juice on others but keeping it in balance.

Please Enjoy!