Serves 4–6

This dish has a royal background, but is now an everyday Thai staple. Mee krob is usually served either as an appetizer or as a noodle salad, but I like to eat it as a snack.

Son-in-Law Eggs

¼ cup vegetable oil

10 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

2 shallots, thinly sliced

illustration cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

illustration cup Tamarind Concentrate (see recipe on page 18)

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Dried hot chili flakes to taste

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the whole eggs in the skillet and fry until golden brown. Remove the eggs to paper towels and set aside. (If your skillet can't hold all of the eggs comfortably, do this in batches.)
  2. Add the shallots to the skillet and sauté until just beginning to brown. Remove the shallots from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  3. Put the brown sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind in the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes; remove from heat.
  4. Cut the eggs in half vertically and place them face-up on a rimmed serving dish. Spread the shallots over the eggs and then drizzle the eggs with the sauce. Garnish with cilantro and chili pepper flakes.

illustration The Secret to Making Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

The perfect hard-boiled egg has a delicate white and a fully cooked yolk, without even a hint of the unattractive gray shadow that affects an improperly cooked egg. The perfect hard-boiled egg is also easy to peel. To achieve this, put the eggs in enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch and boil for 1 minute only. Then remove from heat, cover, and let them sit for 15 minutes. Then, transfer the eggs to a bath of ice water for 15 to 20 minutes. They should then peel easily.