Photo credit:Takeaway

 

Foi Thong or Fios de Ovos is one of the Portuguese yolk-based dessert recipes introduced to Thailand by Maria Guyomar de Pinha in the 17th century.

 

In Portuguese culinary history, the prominence of egg-yolks in sweets and desserts shares an interesting link with laundry service: traditionally, laundry was carried out by nuns and monks, who used egg-whites for bleaching clothes. A surplus of leftover egg-yolks led to a flourishing of dessert-making in convents and monasteries. Why not have a go at making your own with this recipe!

 

Serves 4:

6 egg yolks

200g sugar

200ml water (scented with 2 drops of jasmine for Thai style)

 

Step 1: Add the sugar to the jasmine-scented water in a large saucepan and place over a medium heat. Allow to cook until the mixture turns to syrup, stirring from time to time.

 

Step 2: Pour the egg yolks into a funnel and drizzle into the syrup. (You can stick a bit of tape over the end of the funnel to make a smaller hole – this allows the yolk to be drizzled into the syrup in a very thin trickle, creating a thread-like appearance.)

 

Step 3: Allow the threads to cook for about a minute before fishing them out. Repeat until you run out of yolks.

 

Step 4: Serve them drizzled with the remaining syrup to stop them drying out.

 

From here, you can be creative with how you serve them. Options include topping them with fruit or chocolate spread, eating them with ice cream or cake, using them as a filling for tarts, or simply eating them straight. 

Alternatively, you could give them as a gift to a friend to bring them luck (if you believe in such things).