Thai Son-in-law Eggs

My beautiful Bride made these for me, they're normally served with hot steamed rice as a meal, rather than as an appetizer (as I would have thought). These are best served hot, right after making them, though I have enjoyed them (they taste great) warmed up for lunch the next day. This is a pretty authentic Thai recipe. The challenge of this recipe, to make them taste good, is to make the hard-boiled eggs crispy, a technique that requires practice, and is unusual to Western cookery, frying hard-boiled eggs. We don't know the story behind why these are called son-in-law eggs, that would be interesting to find out.

Thai Son-in-law Eggs
4 eggs
oil for frying
1 Tbsp sugar
tamarind water
4 shallots
1 coriander root
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp soya sauce
coriander leaves, sliced, for garnish

Hard-boil the 4 eggs. Make the tamarind water by combining 1 tsp tamarind paste with 4 tablespoons of water. Pan-fry the hard-boiled eggs, until outside is crispy. Take out and set aside to cool. Slice the shallots thinly. Fry on low heat until crispy; take out, leaving oil in pan. Grind coriander root in mortar; fry in oil until fragrant. Add the tamarind juice, sugar, fish sauce and soya sauce; mix well and fry for a minute or two, to make a sauce. Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half when cool; place on plate. Add the crispy shallots on top of the hard-boiled eggs. Pour the tamarind sauce over the eggs. Garnish with coriander leaves.