Make Fried Egg Salad With Leftover Easter Eggs
The days after Easter give me two things I love: April showers and lots of hard-boiled eggs. The USDA recommends eating hard-cooked eggs within seven days. The clock is ticking, and you may have trouble staying interested after three days of eating egg sandwiches. Switch things up with this Thai Fried Egg Salad that’s simple and flavorful.
Yam khai dao, or yum kai dao, is a Thai salad that includes chopped pieces of the eponymous khai dao, a crispy, chewy fried egg that I love to put on everything . The best thing about shallow frying eggs like this is the combination of textures. Egg whites exposed to hot oil develop a crispy brown crust with bubbles, while the inner white and yolk remain silky and tender. Once the egg is cooked, coarsely chop it and add the pieces to the pile of vegetables. The salad is topped with a dressing that ticks all the boxes: sweet, sour, salty and spicy. This salad ends up too quickly every time.
Highly rated pans for perfect khai dao:
How to cook sweet potato khai dao
You can make this salad any time of the year, but after Easter you have a unique opportunity to use leftover boiled eggs instead of frying raw ones like traditional khai dao.
1. Fry the eggs
If you haven’t peeled your eggs yet, remove their shells. I like to wash away any remaining shell or membrane stuck to the white. If you do this, be sure to use a paper towel afterwards to thoroughly dry the eggs. Drying them will reduce oil splatter later on as we roll them in hot oil. Heat a tablespoon of neutral vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
I use a fork and poke a hole or two into the egg before frying. If you forget, I think you’ll be fine. I don’t think they’ll explode, but I wouldn’t want to find out.
Similar to these steps for khai dao , tilting the pan allows me to fry shallowly with less oil. You can use a wok for frying instead. When the oil is hot, tilt the pan to create a puddle of oil and add the egg. Keep the pan tilted and cook for about one minute. Flip the egg over to the next side and cook for another minute. The white should become bubbly and brown on the outside. Pour the egg onto a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the next eggs.
2. Make a gas station
Mix salad dressing with sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and chopped chili in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
3. Assembling the salad.
Thinly slice red onion, celery, tomatoes, red peppers, or any vegetables you like with your salad. Mix the slices together and place them on a plate. Cut the eggs into quarters and place on top of the vegetables. Pour the fish sauce over the entire plate and add a little salt.
Surprisingly, shallow frying hard-boiled eggs doesn’t overcook the centers. I steam the eggs to create a jammy center, and even after a second steaming, the eggs remained crisp and chewy on the outside, with a tender white and gooey yolk inside. One forkful of hard-boiled khai dao with crunchy vegetables and you’ll be amazed at the wonderful balance of flavor and texture. You can personalize the flavor of the dressing and spices by adjusting the ratio of ingredients.
Yam Khai Dao with leftover boiled eggs
Ingredients:
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4 boiled eggs, peeled
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1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
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¼ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
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¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
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1 celery rib, thinly sliced
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Pinch of salt (optional)
For dressing:
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1 Thai chili pepper, chopped
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1 teaspoon sugar (brown sugar works too)
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1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
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2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1. Mix chopped chilies, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice in a small bowl to dissolve the sugar. Set that aside for now.
2. Add oil to the pan and heat it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, tilt the pan and add one of the boiled eggs. Fry the outside of the boiled egg, turning it every minute or so, until it is bubbly and lightly browned. Place the egg on a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat the same with other eggs.
3. Combine bell peppers, onions and celery and place them on two plates. Cut the eggs into quarters and place on top of the vegetables.
4. Stir the dressing again to dissolve any pesky remaining sugar and pour it over two plates. To finish, sprinkle the dishes with a little salt.