A soft-set egg enclosed in a seasoned crab coating, crumbed and deep-fried, served with a warm coconut moilee sauce and quickly cooked samphire. The sauce is creamy, gently spicy and tangy, while the crab shell is crisp and savoury.
Whole spices for the oil
3.3 gAdded to the hot coconut oil at the start of the moilee sauce (step 1)
For the moilee sauce, heat 13.5 g coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the whole spices for the oil and cook until the seeds pop.
Add 30 g curry leaves, lower the heat, then add 150 g onion. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent without browning.
Add the ground spices for the sauce, 12 g green chilli and grated fresh ginger to taste. Stir to coat the onion.
Pour in 203 g coconut milk and heat until it starts to bubble, then take the pan off the heat. Add lime juice to taste and 30 g coriander leaves. Season with caster sugar and sea salt to taste. Cover and set aside; reheat before serving.
For the eggs, heat a pan of salted water. Lower 4 of the 300 g eggs into the water and cook at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes. Move the eggs straight into iced water. When cool, peel them and set aside.
In a bowl, mix 160 g white crab meat, 80 g brown crab meat, 6 g ginger, 9 g garlic, 9.9 g green chilli, 30 g coriander leaves and 30 g curry leaves. Shape the crab mixture around each egg.
Beat the remaining eggs from the 300 g. Combine 200 g plain flour and 500 g panko breadcrumbs in a bowl. Roll each crab-coated egg in the beaten egg, then in the flour and breadcrumb mixture.
Chill the coated eggs in the refrigerator until the coating is firm.
Heat 913 g vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or kadai to 180°C (350°F). Test with a small piece of bread; it should fizz at once. Lower the eggs in one at a time and fry for 3–4 minutes until golden brown. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.
Reheat the moilee sauce. Quickly cook samphire to taste in a little oil or butter and serve with the Scotch eggs and sauce.
For binding, use about 10 g chickpea flour mixed with 20 ml water per egg and rest for 10 minutes. Denser and nuttier; not suitable for baking or coating in the same way.
Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.
Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.
Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.
Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.
Use equal weight; simmer gently over low heat to prevent curdling. Imparts a comparable rich texture, though it adds dairy richness without any coconut fragrance.