Leah Cohen is the chef-owner of Pig &amp; Khao in New York City. A Top Chef alum, a cookbook author, and the recipient of a 2013 StarChefs Rising Stars Award, Leah’s main cooking philosophy is to stay true to authentic Southeast Asian flavors while incorporating classical western techniques.

Leah Cohen

This Thai-inspired riff on a breakfast sandwich is an excellent way to put <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sai-oua-northern-thai-herbal-sausage">Sai Ua</a> sausage to use in a less traditional way. In fact, it’s so good that you might even consider making the sausage specifically for this sandwich. As a bonus, that means you don’t have to mess around with casings and a sausage stuffer.Along with richness from the liquid yolks on crispy-edged Thai-style fried eggs, the sandwich gets an umami boost from <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/nam-prik-num">Nam Prik Num</a>-spiked mayo, which has charred notes from pounded blistered chiles and funkiness from fish sauce and shrimp paste complementing the creamy <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/japanese-kewpie-style-mayo">Kewpie</a>.The smoke flavor on the sai ua is key. When grilling links, the sai ua picks up that aroma from charcoal. But for patties, cold-smoking (you can hack a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tip-trick-diy-cold-smoker">countertop smoker</a>, or use a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/add-a-kiss-of-smoke-with-the-smoking-gun-pro">Smoking Gun Pro</a>) before searing them in a skillet is the way to go. This is what we do at my restaurant <a href="https://www.pigandkhao.com/">Pig and Khao</a> to make up for the fact that we don’t have a charcoal grill.

Fried Egg and Thai Sausage Breakfast Sandwich