Introduction to Chicken & Eggs

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Chicken comes first in this chapter, with a simple stir-fried dish for your stovetop, followed by a pair of Thai favorite chicken dishes, one cooked in an electric rice cooker and the other on the grill. Each is hearty, simple, and superb. I keep a package of chicken thighs and another of boneless chicken breast in the freezer, so that I can raid the icebox for one of these quick and tasty Thai chicken dishes when the grocery store seems an ocean away.

After my first few weeks of living in the Thai countryside and eating Thai food all the time, it occurred to me that the Thai appetite for eggs does not wither at the end of brunch. Thai cooks do not seem to know about the twenty-foot-tall fence separating breakfast from the rest of the day’s food. Long ago they figured out that eggs are the ultimate quick-and-easy ingredient, ready in minutes, substantial and satisfying, widely available, beautiful in many guises, and good with or without a lot of kitchen fuss. They eat eggs all day and into the night. They are smart.