Thong yod (Thai golden egg yolk drops)

Method

1. If flavoring the syrup with jasmine, do this the night before: submerge a handful of fresh, pesticide-free jasmine blossoms in the water for the cooking syrup, cover, and refrigerate overnight, then strain out the flowers before use. A jasmine tea bag steeped for a few minutes is a workable stand-in, and the pandan leaves below cover you if you have neither.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites, keeping the whites for another use. Push the yolks through a fine sieve or a double layer of cheesecloth to strain out the chalazae and any trace of white. This is what gives the finished drops their smooth, unbroken surface.
3. Whisk the yolks vigorously, by hand or with electric beaters, for 8 to 10 minutes, until pale, thick, and roughly doubled in volume. The mixture should fall from the whisk in a slow, ribbon-like trail rather than run off it. If using the rice flour, sift it in now and fold gently to combine without deflating the yolks.
4. Make the cooking syrup: combine the sugar, water, and pandan leaves (if using) in a wide, heavy pot. Bring to a boil without stirring, swirling the pot instead if the sugar needs help dissolving, then reduce to a gentle simmer, small bubbles breaking steadily at the centre rather than a rolling boil.
5. Make the light finishing syrup separately, in a wide bowl or shallow pan: combine its sugar and water, bring to a simmer until the sugar dissolves, then set aside to cool to room temperature. This is where the cooked drops rest and take on their gloss.
6. Fit a piping bag with a small plain round tip, about 5 to 6 mm across, or use a mold or funnel with holes of that size. Fill it with the yolk mixture. A teaspoon and a light touch of the fingertip works too, in the traditional style, if you would rather not pipe.
7. Working over the simmering cooking syrup, pipe or drop small rounds of the yolk mixture directly into it, spacing them so they do not touch. Let them cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes, until they hold their shape and turn from wet-looking to a matte, set gold, then use two skewers or two teaspoons to gently flip and nudge them, and lift them into the light finishing syrup.
8. Repeat in batches, keeping the cooking syrup at a steady gentle simmer between rounds, until all the yolk mixture is used.
9. Let the drops rest in the light finishing syrup for at least 20 minutes so they firm up and take on their glossy coat, then lift out with a slotted spoon to serve, or store them in the syrup.

Notes

• This is an occasion sweet, not an everyday one: it runs almost entirely on egg yolks and sugar, and each piece is small and concentrated by design. Serve two or three per person, Thai-style, alongside the other members of the nine auspicious desserts if you are making a spread.
• You will have 10 egg whites left over. They freeze well for months in an airtight container; thaw and use them for meringues, a pavlova, financiers, or an egg-white omelet.
• Keep the finished drops covered at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, or refrigerated in their syrup for up to a week. Bring them back to room temperature before serving, since the cold dulls both the glaze and the flavor.
• If the drops spread into flat puddles instead of holding a round shape, the syrup was too cool; if they turn tough and rubbery, it was too hot or they cooked too long. A gentle, steady simmer is the whole trick.
• Fresh jasmine blossoms (dok mali) are the traditional flavoring and worth seeking out if you can find them; jasmine tea or a plain pandan-scented syrup both make a fair, accessible stand-in.

Sources Consulted

• Wikipedia, “Thong yot”
• Wikipedia, “Nine auspicious Thai desserts”
• Lion Brand, “Golden Egg Yolk Threads Recipe: Foi Thongs”
• Thai Cuisine Recipe, “Thong Yod (Gold Egg Yolks Drops)”
• Zomzaa, “Thong Yod (The Egg Drop Coated in Syrup)”