Thong yip

Strained yolk cooked in syrup and pinched into a five-pointed cup while hot.

Duck, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains duck.

Ingredients

• 10 duck egg yolks
• 400 g caster sugar
• 400 ml water
• 2 tablespoons jasmine water
• 1 tablespoon glucose syrup

Method

1. PINCHED INTO A CUP WHILE HOT, and the shaping is the whole identity of it. A spoonful of cooked yolk is lifted out, dropped into a cloth or a cupped hand, and pinched into five points like a flower. Left to set flat it is simply a sweet yolk disc.
2. STRAIN THE YOLKS THROUGH MUSLIN, twice, and do not whisk them. Press them through gently with a spoon. Whisking makes bubbles and the bubbles cook into a foam that will not hold a shape.
3. Separate the yolks carefully; any white at all makes the mixture set stringy rather than smooth.
4. Syrup: sugar, water and glucose brought to a boil, then simmered 10 minutes to a light syrup. The glucose is what stops it crystallising while you work through the batch.
5. DROP THE SYRUP TO A BARE SHIVER before any yolk goes in. Yolk into a boiling syrup scrambles instantly into threads.
6. Spoon the strained yolk in a slow stream into the centre of the pan, in rounds about 4 cm across, a few at a time.
7. 60 to 90 seconds, until just set and holding together when nudged.
8. Lift one out with a slotted spoon, let the syrup drain for a second, and pinch it at once into five points.
9. Work fast and do them one at a time. They stiffen within about ten seconds of leaving the syrup.
10. Rest them on a rack over a tray. Keep the syrup at a shiver throughout -- it thickens as it reduces and needs a splash of water every few batches.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Thailand · All recipes