Kwek-kwek

by Ariel J.
(Mandaluyong City)

Kwek-kwek is a very common street food in Manila.

It is made from quail eggs covered with a batter of flour, cornstarch, seasonings and some food coloring.

Kwek kwek or sometimes called “tokneneng”, is best when dipped in either spicy vinegar or a sweet sauce or a combination of both.

Nowadays, our innovative vendors added the notoriously popular Balut(developing duck embryo) and Penoy to their repertoire of weird fried food concoctions.

So don’t be surprised when you see a baby chick complete with beak and some feathers when you bite into one of these.



Ingredients :

• 24 pcs of quail eggs (hard boiled)
• 3 pcs Balut (hard boiled)
• 3 pcs Penoy (hard boiled)
• 1 cup All purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 pack or 1 tsp food coloring powder (orange)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Canola oil for frying
• Extra flour for dredging


Cooking Procedure :

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes (quail) and 15-20 minutes for the Balut or Penoy, then peel the shells off and wipe the eggs with paper towel to dry.

2. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, food color and water to make a batter.

3. Dredge the eggs in all-purpose flour so the batter will stick to them.

4. Toss the eggs in the batter.

5. Deep fry the eggs one at a time for 4 - 6 minutes or until cooked.

6. Drain the fried eggs in paper towels.

7. Serve with spicy vinegar with onion & garlic, salt and pepper.