Eggs in Curry sauce

Eggs in Curry sauce

A tasty and thick, spicy sauce poured over boiled eggs. This is a genuine comfort food dish by Beb Vuyk: eggs in curry sauce.

These eggs in curry sauce can be an excellent vegetarian dish if you do not use the shrimp paste (trassi) that is in the recipe. It is also the perfect dish for people who like to eat less meat, or just love Indonesian egg dishes ;-).

Indonesian eggs in curry sauce are super easy to make.

This dish is enough for 4 people and is ready in 30 minutes.

Eggs in Curry  sauce # 321 translated from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch kookboek, page 271.

Ingredients

• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/6 block of santen (coconut cream)
• 2 cups water or broth
• 2 tablespoons of oil

Herbs

• 3 tablespoons of chopped onions
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon of sambal terasi (shrimp paste)
• 2 roasted kemiries (candle nuts)
• 1/2 teaspoon of coriander
• pinch of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric (kunjit)
• 1/2 teaspoon of galangal (laos)
• pinch of ground ginger
• salt

1. Melt the santen in the water (or broth).
2. Peel the eggs and cut them in half.
3. Rub all spices with each other and sauté this in the oil.
4. Add, while stirring, the santen and the water to the herb paste and add the eggs.
5. Let this simmer until the sauce is half evaporated.

This simple egg dish is packed with lovely spices like cumin (jinten) and ginger (jahé). These spices create a warm flavor. The turmeric (yellow root) makes the sauce into this beautiful yellow ocher color and the coriander (ketumbar) flavors it with freshness.

Trassi is shrimp paste. It is sold in blocks. It gives Indonesian food that typical smell and taste. Delicious!

I buy kemiri nuts or candlenuts at an Asian shop. Always roast them before use because they are lightly toxic when you leave them raw. Mostly I buy kemiri paste in a jar. This paste is ready to use. One teaspoon is the same amount as two candlenuts.

I start by melting the santen (coconut cream) in the broth. Santen are sold in rectangular blocks, but if you cannot get them use coconut milk. 1 liter coconut milk is the same as one block of santen.

I bring the broth to a boil and melt the santen in it.

I add all the spices, onions and garlic into a jug. My sambal trassi is finished so I add one chili pepper and a teaspoon of trassi to my herb mix. I blend this with my emersion blender.

In a few seconds you have this lovely herb paste or bumbu, as it is called in Indonesian.

Now I sauteé this herb mix in the pan with a few tablespoons of oil. Everything turns beautifully yellow because of the turmeric.

I work a bit different than Beb’s original recipe. Beb adds the broth and the santen to the herb paste. I do it the other way around and add the herb paste to the melted santen in the broth.

I’ve cooked my eggs for about 7 minutes. They are semi-hard inside. They need to simmer for about five minutes in the sauce or until the sauces thickens.

I add some samphire as garnish. I also sprinkle some chopped up chives on top; looks nice!

This eggs in curry sauce are delicious. Perfect with white rice and a fresh salad or acar. This recipe is great for an elaborate lunch as well. It is done in half an hour and it is the best dish for rainy Sunday afternoons. I love to combine these eggs in curry sauce with sambal petai.

Beb Vuyk made her cookbook in the ’70’s. In Indonesia today this eggs in curry sauce dish is made still. It’s called kari telor and in this recipe salam, kunjit and kaffirlime leave is added together with a piece of lemongrass. That sounds delicious and I am definitely going to try that too.

Check out the recipe in this video.