The curry sauce for these eggs is rich and aromatic and a gorgeous mellow yellow. The trick is to cook the sauce and eggs separately, giving them only a cursory meeting at the last minute to warm through. This yields a creamy, orange yolk, not the dusty grey variety.
Serves: 4-8
Ingredients:
8 eggs
400ml tin coconut milk
1 lemongrass stick, bruised and tied in a knot
2.5ml (½ tsp) sea salt
15ml (1 tbsp) tamarind paste
Bumbu spice paste:
5 small red Asian shallots, roughly chopped (or use 2-3 ordinary shallots)
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
5cm piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2cm piece turmeric, peeled, or 1 tsp ground turmeric
3 bird's eye chillies, seeded
Method:
- Boil the eggs for 7-8 minutes, depending on size, and plunge into ice-cold water. Remove the shells and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
- Grind the ingredients for the bumbu in a high-speed blender or food processor, adding a little of the coconut milk to help the blades turn.
- Scrape into a pan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes to lose the harsh raw flavours.
- Add the remaining coconut milk, lemongrass and salt.
- Turn the heat up to bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the tamarind paste and taste for seasoning.
- When you are ready to serve, warm the sauce, then add the eggs to heat through gently.
• Recipe and image from 'Fire Islands, Recipes from Indonesia' by Eleanor Ford, Murdoch Books, R520. You can almost smell the spices as you page through this cookbook, which is filled stories that paint a tantalising picture of exotic Indonesia. The recipes are accessible — featuring some exotic ingredients you should be able to find in your a local spice store — and the ones we put to the test delivered bags of delicious flavour.
