Malaysian coconut egg curry
Katerina Pavlakis 
And who owns the recipe?
Last week I stumbled over a brilliant store cupboard recipe: Asian-style egg curry (this version is Malaysian but similar dishes exist all over Asia).
I first saw it on Jules' Stone Soup instagram. In her recipe she makes reference to Nigella Lawson as her source. On her website, Nigella refers to Yasmin Othman as her inspiration. She also mentions the Malaysian name of the dish: masak lemak telur ('creamy dish with eggs'). Searching by that 'original' name brings up a load more of recipes, most of them in Malaysian. 'Malaysian egg curry' brings up lots of versions in English too.
And on and on it goes - each version a bit different from the next while they are all about the same dish.
So who 'owns' the recipe?
To me this is a nonsensical question, just like asking who owns a folk song or a fairy tale.
To me, recipes are owned by the people who cook them: the phrase 'as many recipes as cooks' exists for a reason!
Like songs, and like language, recipes are so intertwined with life, and being human, that they are alive and fluid, never static. Recipes are living things.
Yet the world is full of claims for 'my recipe' this and that and everything.
Someone combines an onion, some spices and some veggies and calls it a recipe.
OK. It may be a delicious combination. It may be an interesting combination. A combination I wouldn't have thought of myself.
In this case, the new idea for me was to poach the eggs in the sauce, rather than using hard boiled eggs. A new idea definitely worth trying - but at the same time adapting it to my own likes, needs and pantry contents in the process.
So whose recipe is it now?
.
Back to the egg curry... here is my version, deconstructed:
.
The concept: A curry is a spicy sauce with stuff cooked in it. It's as simple as that.
Note: spicy here means punchy in flavour - it doesn't have to be hot.
So you want to focus on getting bold with your sauce. That's the whole point of the dish.
.
Minimum ingredients: spices/spice paste, eggs, coconut milk, soy sauce, lemon juice
Extras: onion/spring onion, garlic, ginger, spice paste (home-made or from a jar), veggies and/or protein, fish sauce, chilli sauce, fresh/frozen herbs.
I usually have some left over spice paste in my fridge (I always make a big batch) but shop-bought curry paste will do just as well (I usually have a jar of that in my fridge too, so useful!). Or you could just use some spices you like, or simply use curry powder.
The point here is to make the sauce taste boldly flavourful so don't skimp. I suggest you are careful with the chilli though - you don't want the heat to cover up the flavour (or make up for the lack of it).
I always have onions, eggs, coconut milk (the base ingredients), and garlic, ginger, soy sauce and lemons (flavourings) in my pantry. All this keeps well for quite a while. I also keep herbs in my freezer, and spices on my shelf.
I like adding onion to everything for depth of flavour, but you can leave it out if you want. Or you might have minced the onions with your spice paste, in which case you don't really need extra either.
.
Once you have the spice paste (or spices) to hand, the actual cooking steps are very few:
- Soften the chopped onion in some cooking oil.
- Add the spice paste or ground spices/curry powder and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add veggies. Cook for another few minutes until they just start to soften.
- Add coconut milk, soy/fish sauce, a grate of lemon zest and lemon juice to taste (err on the bold side) and bring back to a simmer.
- Now carefully break the eggs into the sauce and poach until just set.
- TIP: it's easier to break each egg into a ramekin first, before you slide them into the sauce.
- Finish with a handful of herbs.
- Serve with soy sauce and lemon juice on the side for everyone to adjust to taste. Offer rice or noodles too if you like (I usually just have loads of veggies in my curries).
.
Note: You can use hard boiled eggs here too. A lot of the traditional egg curry recipes actually use hard boiled eggs. But I rather like this poached version - no need to cook & peel the eggs separately, and they better take up the flavours as they cook.
BTW: Use exactly the same process (recipe?) to make ANY quick Asian-style curry - it doesn't have to be eggs. You can have just veggies in your curry sauce, or chickpeas, noodles, tofu, fish or meat (you want quick-cooking meat here, like chicken pieces).
And yes, if you search for 'coconut curry' plus your ingredient there will be plenty of recipes. But once you understand the concept behind this dish you probably won't need one!
.
One thing is sure: quick coconut curries really are a super handy pantry meal!
---
PS. Have you checked out my new Smart Pantry workshop yet?
