This Burmese salad makes the perfect simple weekday supper

This is apparently the dish that my mother used to win the heart of my father. They were at medical school together in Mandalay and she was the only one out of the lot of them who could cook. Whenever the students went on a group picnic, everyone insisted she made this egg salad. It’s simple and light, and gorgeous in a sandwich, or on toast (seriously).

Kyet U Salat Ywet Thoke (egg and lettuce salad)
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 round of butterhead lettuce
• 6 eggs
• 1 tbsp shop-bought fried onions, to garnish

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp groundnut oil or other neutral-tasting oil
  
• 2 tbsp smooth or crunchy peanut butter
  
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
  
• juice of ½ lime
  
• ½ tbsp chicken or vegetable bouillon

Method

1  Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

2  Separate the lettuce leaves, wash, drain thoroughly and tear each leaf in half. Place the torn leaves in a large salad bowl.

3  Soft boil the eggs (see Cook’s Note, below) and cool, peel and quarter them.

4  Drizzle the dressing all over the lettuce leaves and massage with your hands so the leaves become coated and slightly wilted. Add the cooled soft-boiled egg quarters and combine gently to avoid breaking them up.

5  Scatter the crispy fried onions on top and serve with plain rice or in a sandwich.

Tip: For the perfect egg with a slightly fudgy yolk: place room temperature eggs in a saucepan, cover in cold water and heat on high until the eggs start to boil and bubble furiously. Immediately turn the heat down to medium and continue to simmer for another 7 minutes. Remove from heat and submerge in cold, running water to stop the eggs from cooking.

Extracted from Mandalay: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen by MiMi Aye (Bloomsbury).