Eggs in chili sauce (Sambal telur)

This dish is not for the faint of heart, very spicy and bold, it will make you lips tingle and set your tongue on fire. It is perfect as an appetizer with that glass of cold beer.

I have recently been making a few recipes with spiced eggs, see Eggs in spicy masala - Mappila-style, and have discovered that I love the combination of hard-boiled eggs and spicy sauces. The creamy yolks pair beautifully with the sauces and the soft whites are perfect. Here is another wonderful recipe.

As I mentioned, this recipe is bold, but beautiful. The chilies add the bang of spice which lasts on your palate. This is the perfect as an hors d’oeuvres with a cold glass of beer to cool your mouth down.

This is a thic volume of recipes from Singapore. The recipes are the perfect image of the city with flavors from the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. The recipes always turn out authentic and the flavors pop, like this dish.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons oil

10 dried red chilies, soaked in water. I used Kashmiri chilies, but you can use any spicy chili of your choice

2-3 fresh Thai red chilies

8 shallots, sliced

1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste (leave out for vegan and vegetarian version)

1 clove garlic

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon tamarind extract

4-5 tablespoons water

Fry the hard-boiled eggs in oil for a couple of minutes rolling them around the pan so they get evenly browned all over. Remove and cool.

Add all the dry and fresh chilies, shallots, shrimp paste, garlic, salt, and sugar to a small blender, add the water and blend to a smooth purée. You need just about enough water to get the paste moving in the blender, do not make it too runny.

Add the oil to a small pot and add the chili purée. Fry on a low flame till the paste thickens and the oils come to the surface in small bubbles. Taste, careful it will be very spicy, and adjust salt and sourness.

Cut the eggs if desired, I like to cut them on a diagonal. Layer the chili sauce on the bottom of a plate or bowl, layer the eggs on top, I like to alternate the eggs, one of them the fried side up and the other the cut side up for a great visual display. Serve at room temperature.