Easter in Cambodia

Loren's Easter Eggs.

This was not as simple as it looks. To start with all the chickens in Cambodia are brown chickens hence every egg is brown. And we all know you can't dye brown eggs. So, armed with my fire tablet opened to a picture of a white egg, I set off with my tuk-tuk driver to find the impossible. Six stores later I am still empty handed. (they had pink duck eggs) As a last desperate measure we decided to try the open-air market. They had little white eggs from Bantam chickens. (maybe Bantam's only lay white eggs) I got skinned for $7 for 24 eggs. Actually I got cheated with only 21 eggs when I counted them later.

Now: how to dye the eggs? You just can't run into a supermarket and buy an Easter Egg kit with a cute picture of a bunny on it! So after a search I found three 12oz bottles of food coloring and a quart of cane vinegar.

Back to the hotel to get the eggs bubbled. That was easy. Next I lined up my glasses with stirring straws.

Got a large spoon and 6 paper napkins and started dying away. It looked like a scene from high school chemistry class.

All the the while the hotel employees are gathered around trying to figure out what the crazy American Loren was doing!

I am pretty sure I am the only who has ever done Easter eggs in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Probably be the last one too ...

They look awesome.

Wow, great results for so much trouble. I kinda like the bumpy texture.

I always hated the PAAS dye kits. All you need is 4 bottles of old fashioned food coloring and some vinegar, and you will get the prettiest eggs out there.
Mom used the hot water from the pot, added some dye and a teaspoon of vinegar to each cup. Dad always had a white crayon hidden in his pocket and wrote our name on an egg and kept them to the side calling them the 'magic eggs'. Of course, we caught on eventually, then played along just for fun.

Enjoy your expensive Easter Eggs.