“Khao Kai Jiao or bull eye egg with fish sauce over rice is an old Thai comfort food. Now they have a new rendition and we have the recipe.”

For as long as I can remember, I have seen many simple Thai folks have a meal of runny egg over rice with a splash of soy or fish sauce over it. It’s their comfort food – Khao Kai Jiao or eggs and rice. I had it many times and I understand just how comforting it is, even as a kid way back when. Of late, we noticed a few newer renditions of this comfort classic and some restaurants and stalls in the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok are offering it. It’s crispier and looks more enticing (if you are into fried stuff, that is).

Khao Kai Jiao

Ingredients

1 Egg

Half a Lime

1 bowl of rice

3 Prawns, de-shelled, de-veined and blanched

½ tsp of fish sauce

Cooking oil

Method

Crack the egg into a bowl and add fish sauce and a 2-3 drops of lime juice. The latter helps to break the enzymes in the egg so that it enhances fluffiness when frying. Beat the mixture until it is frothy.

Pour enough oil for deep-frying (approximately 1cm deep) into a small flat base wok or pan, over medium to high fire.

While waiting for the oil to be heated up, diced the blanched prawns.

Back to the stove, do not pour but DRIP the beaten egg, in an expanding, circular motion into the oil. The egg will expand and fluff up.

Once the egg takes shape, check the underside if it is browned. This should take less than 10-15 seconds.

Remove and strain the egg and place it over a bowl of rice, crispy side up. Finish it with the diced prawns on top. Finally, add a dash of soy sauce (optional) , and a puff of pepper over the egg for more savouriness and bite.