A fried egg sounds too simple to compare across two cuisines, but Spain and Thailand have arrived at a very similar egg. In both countries it is often fried in a generous amount of hot oil rather than a thin film of butter, so the white puffs and browns at the edges, and the egg often goes on top of something starchy. What changes is what sits underneath.
The Spanish egg: puntilla and olive oil
In Spain eggs are commonly fried in olive oil, often a fair depth of it, with the hot oil spooned over the white as it cooks. The crisp, lacy brown edge has its own name: puntilla, meaning lace.
Where you meet it:
- Huevos rotos: fried eggs over fried potatoes, broken so the yolk mixes into them, often with jamón or chorizo. Our huevos rotos guide covers how to order them.
- Huevos fritos con patatas: the same idea, served unbroken.
- Arroz a la cubana: white rice, tomato sauce and a fried egg, often with a fried banana. It is a common home dish in Spain.
- Pisto: the Spanish vegetable stew is often served with a fried egg on top.
The Thai egg: khai dao
In Thailand the fried egg is khai dao, which translates as star egg, after the shape of its spreading, crisp edges. It is often cooked in a wok in plenty of hot oil, so the edges blister and brown fast.
Where you meet it:
- On rice with pad krapao, stir-fried meat with holy basil. Ordering it "khai dao" adds the egg on top.
- Yam khai dao: a salad of chopped fried egg with chilli, lime, fish sauce and onion.
- Khai luk khoei, son-in-law eggs: hard-boiled eggs deep-fried until blistered, then served with a sweet-sour tamarind sauce. Not a fried egg in the Spanish sense, but the same love of crisp egg.
Yolks vary from runny to cooked through. If you want it cooked through, ask for khai dao suk; if you want it soft, say so.
Same egg, different plate
Olive oil and a frying pan are typical in Spain, while vegetable oil and a wok are common in Thailand, though cooks in both countries vary. Underneath, Spain tends to put potatoes or bread and Thailand rice. Arroz a la cubana is where the two meet, with rice and a fried egg on one plate.
If you like this kind of comparison, our post on tortilla de patatas and khai jiao does the same for omelettes.
Where to try it
These restaurants in our directory list huevos rotos in their own records:
- Little Spain, Hua Hin: its record names huevos rotos with jamón ibérico de bellota as the signature dish.
- ¡Ay Manuela!, Xiamen: lists huevos rotos con chorizo among its Spanish dishes.
- Huevos de Oro, São Paulo: names huevos rotos among the iconic dishes on its menu, next to tortilla de patatas and pan tumaca.
