Son-In-Law Eggs

Son-In-Law-Eggs, or 'khai luuk kheuy' in Thai ('khai' = egg + 'luuk kheeuy' = son-in-law) is a traditional Thai celebration dish. These eggs are enjoyed on new year's day or at wedding feasts, are taken as an offering to the monks when Thai people visit their local temple. They make good snacks, deep-frying gives the skins a unique texture.

Failure to find the story behind the name of this dish, I signalled S.O.S. on twitter and yielded help from onebitemore to these two interesting links:

http://www.astray.com/
"This dish is traditionally made from quail's eggs, and the name is literalistic euphemism. The story goes that if a young man is being less than kind to his wife, then on a regular visit to his mother-in-law, she will give him a salutary reminder that his behavior has been noted by serving this dish. The message is plain, straighten up and fly right, or his wedding tackle will take the place of the similarly sized eggs in a dish of khai luk koei."

http://www.simply-thai.com/
"Mother-in-law arrives unexpectedly after a long journey. Daughter is out!...leaving a nervous son-in-law on his own trying to impress with his hospitality. While mother-in-law freshens up he hurries into the kitchen to rustle up that special something, the problem is he can't cook. he see' boiled eggs left over from the meal before, they are cold so he decides to heat them up by frying them. Meanwhile he puts all the ingredients he can find into a saucepan, sugar, fish sauce, fried onions and Tamarind, and leaves them on the stove; he nearly forgot the rice. Busy sorting out the rice he doesn't watch the saucepan and the tamarind mixture thickens and caramelises. Hoping for the best, he pours the blackened mixture over the fried boiled eggs and creates a surprisingly tasty dish, using the most common ingredients in an unexpected way. I guess she was impressed!!"

Wherever the name came from, this is a killer dish - rich in texture, great in taste.

Son-In-Law Eggs Recipe
(Adapted from Food of the Word Cook Book)
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 fried long chillies, about 13 cm / 5" long (* I use fresh chillies)
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
110 g (4 oz) Asian shallots, finely sliced (* I use ready-made deep-fried shallots)
6 large hard-boiled eggs, shelled
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp tamarind puree
5 tbsp palm sugar

Method

1. Cut the chillies into 5 mm (1/4") pieces with scissors or a knife and discard the seeds. Heat 5 cm (2 inches) oil in a wok or deep frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil seems hot, drop a slice of the Asian shallot into the oil. If it sizzles straight way, the oil is ready. Deep-fry the chillies for a few seconds, being careful not to burn them, to bring out the flavour. Remove them with a slotted spoon, then drain on paper towels.
2. In the same wok, deep-fry the Asian shallots for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. Remove with a slotted spoon, then drain on paper towels. Use a spoon to slide one egg at a time into the same hot oil. Be careful as the oil may splash. Deep-fry for 10-15 minutes or until the whole of each egg is golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, then drain on paper towels. Keep warm.
3. In a saucepan over a medium heat, stir the fish sauce, tamarind puree and sugar for 5-7 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved.
4. Halve the eggs lengthways and arrange them with the yolk upwards on a serving plate. Drizzle the tamarind sauce over the eggs and sprinkle the crispy chillies and shallots over them.