Soy and Thai Chilli Pickled Eggs
current situation: soy Thai chili pickled eggs
A jar of these in the fridge changes what is possible at eleven at night. Eggs that taste of soy, garlic and chilli all the way through, ready whenever.
The eggs are boiled seven minutes, not nine. In a brine they keep firming for days, so an egg that was perfect on day one is chalky by day four. Seven gives you a jammy yolk that is still soft at the end of the week.
The brine must be completely cold before the eggs go in. Warm brine cooks the outside of the white into something rubbery and it never recovers.
- Makes
- 12 eggs
- Hands-on
- 25 minutes
- Boil
- 7 minutes exactly
- Ready
- 24 hours
What you need
The eggs
- 12 eggs, a week old if possible — they peel better
- A bowl of ice water
The brine
- 1 1/2 cups soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/3 cup mirin or rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed
- 8 Thai chillies, split (from my garden)
- 1 thumb ginger, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
How it goes
1 — Make the brine first and chill it completely
Everything brought to a simmer for five minutes, then cooled to properly cold — in the fridge, not just off the heat. This has to be done before the eggs are boiled.
2 — Seven minutes, lowered into boiling water
Already-boiling water, eggs lowered in on a spoon, timer started. Seven minutes exactly for a set white and a jammy centre.
3 — Straight into ice water for five minutes
It stops the cooking dead and contracts the egg away from the shell. Skip it and you get a hard yolk and a torn white.
4 — Peel under water
Cracked all over and peeled with the egg submerged. The water gets under the membrane and the shell lifts off in sheets.
5 — Eggs into cold brine, weighted under
A small plate, a folded paper towel laid on the surface, or just a jar packed tight enough. Any egg that floats above the brine stays white in a patch and it will annoy you.
6 — 24 hours is good, four days is better
The colour creeps in from the outside, so at a day you have an amber shell and a white middle, and by four it has gone most of the way through.
pro tip — Cut one open every day. It is the only way to learn where you like it, and it is a good excuse.
7 — Out of the brine after a week
Past about seven days they go salty and the whites toughen. Lift them out, keep them in a dry container, and reuse the brine once for a second batch.
Current situation. Halve one over rice at midnight and you will understand. LFG.