Tastes like home.
When you slice into a sai oua Scotch egg, the yolk spills out, golden against the fiery crust, and it feels like a perfect metaphor for migration and memory: familiar at the core, but wrapped in something new. It’s a crunchy, spicy, bright, showstopping snack, and a reminder that home is not one place or flavour.
Nat Thaipun says…
Food, for me, has always been about the meeting point between memory and imagination. Sai oua, the fragrant northern Thai sausage, is one of those dishes that instantly feels like home. Its bold mix of lemongrass, turmeric, garlic and chilli is the flavour of my family’s kitchen – smoky, spicy and deeply comforting. It’s also a dish that not many Westerners have tried, which makes it feel even more special, almost like a family secret we get to share with the world.
But wrapped around a soft egg, fried crisp in breadcrumbs, it becomes something else entirely.
A Scotch egg is a pub classic, one of those dishes my dad never thought he would be eating, let alone with Thai sausage. For me, putting sai oua in a Scotch egg is more than just a playful twist. It merges two cultures I have grown up between: the Thai food of my heritage and the nostalgic comfort of European-inspired pub food. It brings both worlds to the same table, and I love watching my dad laugh as he tucks into what he now calls “the best pub snack” he’s ever had.
The dish feels like home because it carries the essence of who I am. It honours the flavours of northern Thailand that my family has passed down, while adapting and reshaping itself in a way that speaks to living in Australia, where cuisines constantly blend and reinvent themselves. When you slice into a sai oua Scotch egg, the yolk spills out, golden against the fiery crust, and it feels like a perfect metaphor for migration and memory: familiar at the core, but wrapped in something new. It’s a crunchy, spicy, bright, showstopping snack, and a reminder that home is not one place or flavour.
It is the in-between, where traditions meet new experiences, and where a Thai sausage and a Scotch egg can come together to tell a story of family and culture.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Sausage mixture
1kg pork shoulder, coarsely ground (or a mix of pork shoulder and pork belly for added fat)
200g pork fat, finely chopped (optional, but adds juiciness)
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely shredded makrut lime leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass
Small handful of chopped coriander
Small handful of chopped spring onions
4–5 tablespoons Nam prik sai oua (sai oua curry paste)
Scotch eggs
4 medium eggs, soft-boiled (boil for 6 minutes, then cool in ice water and peel)
150g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten (for coating)
60g breadcrumbs (panko or regular)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Dipping sauce to serve
Method
In a large bowl, combine the pork, fat (if using), fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, makrut lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander and spring onions. Add the curry paste and mix thoroughly until evenly combined. Adjust the seasoning as you like (add more curry paste to make it spicier and more intense).
Divide the sausage mixture into four equal portions. Take one portion and flatten it in your palm. Place a soft-boiled egg in the centre and gently wrap the sausage mixture around the egg, ensuring it is evenly covered. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Set up a station with three bowls: one for the flour, one for the beaten eggs and one for the breadcrumbs. Roll each sausage-covered egg in the flour, then dip it into the beaten egg, and finally coat it in breadcrumbs. Ensure each egg is fully covered with breadcrumbs for a crispy finish.
Heat the oil in a deep pan or saucepan to 170°C (drop in a breadcrumb to check it is hot enough). Carefully lower the eggs into the hot oil and fry for 5–6 minutes, maintaining the temperature at 170°C to ensure the Scotch eggs cook evenly and develop a golden, crispy exterior without burning. Remove and drain on paper towel.
Slice the Scotch eggs in half lengthways to reveal the perfectly cooked soft yolk inside.
THAI: ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE BY NAT THAIPUN IS OUT NOW.
Published in ed#753
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