Home-style fried eggs with chilli sauce

March 27, 2017

Kylie Kwong's home-style eggs with chilli sauce.William Meppem Styling Hannah Meppem

We go through dozens and dozens of eggs each week at Billy Kwong, cooking our "staples", which include fried rice and a version of this dish. Although these fried eggs are extremely simple to make, the deliciousness of this recipe relies upon super-fresh eggs. This dish is all about colour and texture for me. What you want is crunchy egg whites, and crispy golden brown, yet, runny yolks. Serve this dish with some steamed rice, and call it a meal.

Ingredients

2 tbsp chilli sauce (see recipe below)
1 cups vegetable oil
4 free-range eggs*
1 tbsp light soy sauce
pinch ground white pepper
1/2 cup spring onions, finely sliced
*Weekly farmers markets always have great free-range or organic eggs on offer. Sure, the eggs may cost a bit more by the dozen, but in my view, it is a worthwhile investment, from a sustainability and flavour perspective,
For the chilli sauce (makes 240g or 1 cup)
8 large red chillies, roughly chopped
75g ginger, roughly chopped
125ml vegetable oil
tsp white sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Note: Check soy sauce is gluten-free if required

Method

Prepare the chilli sauce
1.Chop chilli and ginger in a food processor until finely chopped.
2. Heat oil in a wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly. Reduce heat to low-medium, add chilli and ginger and cook, stirring regularly, for about three minutes to cook out the flavours. Add sugar and cook for one minute, stirring regularly so sauce doesn't catch on the wok base.
3. Stir through soy sauce, reduce heat to low and cook, still stirring, for 10 minutes – the sauce should darken, and the oil will separate at this stage. The chilli sauce can be used straight away or cooled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
For eggs
1. Heat the oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly.
2. Crack eggs into a small bowl, then pour into hot oil. After one minute, reduce heat to medium, allowing the underside of the eggs to become firm and crisp – the yolks should still be runny at this point.
3. Carefully slide a spatula under the eggs, then pour off and discard the oil. Return eggs to wok and cook for a further minute to become crisp.
4. Gently remove eggs from wok and drain off any excess oil before easing onto a plate. Drizzle eggs with soy sauce, chilli sauce, garnish with pepper and spring onions, and serve immediately.

Photo: William Meppem. Styling: Hannah Meppem