Thai

Ant Eggs

Name: Ant Eggs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 80 g red ant eggs (khai mot daeng); 30 g shallots; 1 tbsp lemongrass; 1 spring onion; 2 leaves culantro (sawtooth coriander); 5 g mint leaves; 1.5 tbsp lime juice; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 0.25 tsp palm sugar; 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes (phrik pon); 1 tsp toasted rice powder (khao khua); 60 g white cabbage; 120 g cooked sticky rice

Yam khai mot daeng, the Isaan salad of red ant eggs. The eggs are barely cooked so they stay plump and pop with a sour milkiness, then tossed with lime, fish sauce, chilli and a heap of raw shallot, lemongrass and herbs. Eaten with sticky rice and raw vegetables.

Lunch & dinner Pescatarian Under 400 kcal 8g+ fibre Under 30 min

20 min15 prep · 5 cookMedium364 kcalper serving

Method

Tip 80 g of red ant eggs into a wide bowl of cold water and pick them over with your fingers, floating off bits of leaf, twig and any dead ants. Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon rather than pouring, so they do not burst, and drain on kitchen paper.
Bring a small pan of water to a bare simmer, take it off direct heat, and slide the eggs in for 30 seconds only, just until they turn opaque and firm. Lift them straight out with a slotted spoon onto a cold plate and spread them out to stop the cooking. They should still be plump and burst when pressed.
In a mixing bowl, stir 1.5 tbsp of lime juice with 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 0.25 tsp of chopped palm sugar and 0.5 tsp of toasted chilli flakes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Taste: it should be aggressively sour first, salty second, with a slow chilli heat.