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Foi thong (golden threads)
Egg yolk threads
ฝอยทอง · egg-yolk threads cooked in jasmine syrup and folded into nests
Ayutthaya's royal kitchens learned this sweet from Portuguese settlers in the seventeenth century, and today stalls along the old city's riverside and wedding banquets across Thailand pile up the shining nests. Thin streams of yolk set in boiling syrup into glossy, rich, very sweet threads, eaten in small pieces with strong tea or coffee. Long threads are offered at weddings for a long marriage. The eggs are fully cooked in the syrup. Chef's tip: the mistake is letting the syrup thicken too far; keep topping it up with a splash of water so it stays thin enough for threads to stay separate.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 10 duck egg yolksor 12 large hen's egg yolks; save the whites for another dish
- 1 ⅛ lb sugar
- 2 cups waterplus extra to top up
- 2 pandan leavesknotted
- 2 drops jasmine extract (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pull every bit of white and the stringy chalazae off 10 duck egg yolks, then push the yolks through a fine sieve into a jug. Let them stand for 10 minutes so the bubbles rise.
12 minStep 2: Bring 1 ⅛ lb sugar, 2 cups water and 2 pandan leaves to the boil in a wide, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat. Simmer until the syrup is clear and very slightly thick, about 8 minutes; add 2 drops jasmine extract if using, then lower to a steady simmer.
8 minStep 3: Spoon some yolk into a piping bag with a 1–2 mm hole (or a foi thong cone). Holding it 10 cm above the syrup, swirl it in quick circles so a fine continuous thread falls into the pan.
2 minStep 4: Let the threads cook until they turn bright gold and set firm, 30–60 seconds. Lift them out with a chopstick, fold the strands into a neat bundle and lay it on a tray.
1 minStep 5: Repeat with the rest of the yolk, adding 2 tablespoons of water to the pan whenever the syrup starts to look thick or bubbles slowly.
25 minStep 6: Spoon a little syrup over the nests so they stay glossy, cool, then keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 63 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does foi thong (golden threads) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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