Brown Eggs - Khai Pa-lo

I have a dear younger Thai friend whom I met and got to know in Australia over 10 years ago. She is now one of the executives in one of the biggest companies in Thailand. She is fond of Brown Eggs but I have never cooked this dish for her (actually, over the several months we hung out together – she was the one who cooked most of the timeJ. So this is for you, Nan – wish you were here.

This dish is common in Thailand that you can find almost everywhere from street stalls to shopping malls’ food courts. It will keep for several days and you can add more boiled eggs along the way if the sauce is still left. 

You will need:

6 hard boil eggs

250 grams of pork (with a bit of fat will be nicer than lean), sliced to 1 cm thick

800 ml stock (I use my Knorr’s stock powder dissolved in hot water)

2 big coriander roots, chopped finely and a few coriander leaves to garnish

Pepper

Thick soy sauce (sweet kind – I use ABC’s Kejap Manis) – about a tablespoon or 2

Thin soy sauce– about 2-3 tablespoons – you need to taste as you go and add more if needed

Sugar (it depends on your dark soy sauce – if it’s sweet enough, you might not need any sugar)

3-4 whole star anises

Method

Fry coriander roots, star anise and pepper in a little bit of oil in heavy base pot or deep saucepan until fragrant. Add pork pieces and fry until brown then add hard boiled eggs. Add thick soy sauce and thin soy sauce and fry gently until the eggs are coated in sauce – add stock and sugar, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently about an hour or two until the pork is tender. Skim off the scum from time to time and you might have to add more water if the liquid has reduced too low. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. This dish needs to be a little bit salty with a hint of peppery and sweetness. Add a little bit of coriander leaves to garnish and serve warm with rice. Just cut eggs in half and place in the bowl before serving – don’t cut and leave them to sit in the pot/saucepan – it will make the sauce murky. You can also add fried tofu but it will not keep for long.