Karen Martini's crisp-fried egg, charred corn, smoked trout and herb salad

Name: Karen Martini's crisp-fried egg, charred corn, smoked trout and herb salad
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 3 corn cobs; oil for deep-frying; 6 eggs; 1 side of hot-smoked rainbow trout, flaked; 4 spring onions, finely sliced; 3 makrut lime leaves, very finely sliced; 4 Thai basil sprigs, leaves picked; 4 coriander sprigs, leaves picked; 2 green chillies, sliced on an angle; juice of 1 lime

Karen Martini

February 23, 2023

Corn and smoked trout salad crowned with a crisp-fried egg.Wiilliam Meppem

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:6

This is a very tasty and intense dish – the crisp egg and abundance of herbs are the stars. Snap-frying the egg is the secret, meaning you get an oozy and saucy yolk with tendrils of crisply crunchy white. While best described as a breakfast or brunch dish, I would be happy to eat it at any time of day – it would even make a heavenly late-night snack.

Ingredients

3 corn cobs
oil for deep-frying
6 eggs
1 side of hot-smoked rainbow trout, flaked
4 spring onions, finely sliced
3 makrut lime leaves, very finely sliced
4 Thai basil sprigs, leaves picked
4 coriander sprigs, leaves picked
2 green chillies, sliced on an angle
juice of 1 lime

For the dressing

2½ tbsp oyster sauce
1½ tbsp fish sauce
juice of 1 large lime
2½ tsp castor sugar
½ tsp ground white pepper

Method

1. Grill the corn on a barbecue or in a griddle pan until tender and charred, then slice the kernels off the cobs.
2. For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, then dress the corn kernels with ¼ of the dressing.
3. Add about 8cm of oil to a wok, deep frying pan or saucepan and heat to 200C.
4. Crack an egg into a small bowl or cup and slide into the oil from close to the surface. It should puff and crisp immediately. Fry for about 50 seconds. The white will be cooked, and the yolk will remain soft. Cook in batches of two eggs, repeating until all the eggs are cooked. Drain the eggs very quickly on paper towel, then transfer to a plate.
5. Plate the corn first, followed by the eggs, then spoon some dressing over the top.
6. Toss the trout, spring onion, fresh herbs and chilli with the lime juice and pile on top of the eggs. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
Serving suggestion: You could also dress this up as dinner fare with a seared piece of ocean trout or salmon instead of the smoked trout (or try smoked eel with salmon caviar for a sophisticated entree), and serve with steamed rice.