Thong Yib (Thai Candied Egg Yolks)
Photo: Praewdu, CC BY-SA 4.0
Thong yib is a Thai sweet of egg yolks cooked in sugar syrup and pinched into little flowers. It is traditionally served at auspicious ceremonies to bring blessings. Duck eggs give the yolks a rich body, and jasmine water scents the syrup. The technique is the interesting part: how long you whisk the yolks decides how soft they set, and that determines whether they hold a crimped petal shape.
Instructions
Combine 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of jasmine water in a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer until the sugar has dissolved, then take it off the heat and let this syrup cool.
In a second saucepan, bring 5 cups of sugar and 4 cups of jasmine water to a simmer. Leave it alone without stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk the yolks constantly for about 3 to 5 minutes. The longer you whisk, the softer the cooked yolks will be, but if they are too soft they are hard to crimp later.
When the second syrup is boiling, remove the pot from the heat. Right away, use a spoon to drop dollops of yolk into the hot syrup, where each one will spread into a circle.
Return the pot to the heat and keep flipping the yolks until they are completely cooked.
Spoon the cooked yolks into the cooled syrup and let them cool slightly. Crimp each one into a flower shape with 3, 4, or 5 petals.
Put the crimped yolks in a small bowl and let them cool down completely before serving.
Make it personal.
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