Jun 26, 2007

Tokneneng / Kwek-Kwek


This post is more than a month late for the 17th edition of Lasang Pinoy, thanks to my hiatus from blogging and bloghopping (I read the LP announcement just last night). I'm hoping the good people of LP will accept it anyway and include it in the (post) round-up.


Tokneneng is the baby version of Kwek-Kwek, boiled chicken eggs coated with orange-tinted batter commonly sold on the street. Tokneneng is made of boiled quail eggs. Both Kwek-kwek and Tokneneng are my boys' favorites, and today I decided to treat them to the hygienic version. (As most people know, Tokneneng and Kwek-kwek get additional flavor from the spraying of smoke, dust and other airborne elements from people and vehicles passing by as they sit on display on the karitons.)



TOKNENENG

What's In It?

24 pcs. quail eggs, hard-boiled and shells removed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp + 1 pinch iodized salt
a pinch or two of black pepper powder
a pinch of Maggi Magic Sarap (optional)
1/2 cup tap water
2-3 drops red food color
2-3 drops yellow food color
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for dusting)
1 cup cooking oil (for frying)

Kitchen Conjugations:


1) In a shallow pan prepare and heat cooking oil over medium heat.

2) Meantime, stir in food color into water until you get the desired tint. (Tip: Go for a little darker because the shade will pale when combined with the starches.)

2) In a medium bowl combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper and Magic Sarap or MSG (if using). Gradually add-in colored water, pouring a little at a time as you beat the batter with slow strokes. Add in any remaining water until the batter is fluid but thick. (See picture above. PS - I ran out of red food color so the batter is yellow.)

3) Pour the extra 1/4 cup all-purpose flour into a plastic bag or container. Add in the shelled quail eggs, cover/seal and roll to coat. (This gives the batter something to cling on.)

4) Dunk the floured eggs into the batter. Pick up using two teaspoons (so that you can keep the eggs rolling and coating in the thick batter and keep them as round as possible) then pop into the hot oil.

5) Fry for a minute each side or until the batter sets. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool and drain on a colander.

6) Serve with sweet-chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce (bottled versions available at supermarkets) or spiced vinegar (white vinegar with minced red onion and a sprinkling of ground black pepper and salt). Enjoy!


PS uli: Today's tokneneng, happening on a school day, figured in the boys' lunch box. To make sure the Toknenengs stay crisp and fresh, the sauce was stored separately, to be poured in just before eating. The extra sauce packs I take home and keep from our fastfood eat-outs came handy. :)

SOME TRIVIA:

1) A quail egg has 3 times more cholesterol than a chicken egg.

2) The chicken figurine in the picture above is a candlestick holder, part of a set I bought in 1997. Her partner, the rooster, fell into pieces after being thrown into the air by one of my nieces, who thought it was plastic and was a toy. They were samples for an export project, and I have not found a replacement for Mr. Rooster.

3) The Easter Eggs (at the background) I bought from the Custom Clay Shop factory in San Pedro, for P10.00 each (I think they sold for P120 each at the malls). Gambel accidentally broke one of the eggs yesterday when his kicking pad flew while practicing TKD.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had the experience of eating kwek-kwek in the Philippines but never knew about tokneneng until my son told me about it. I'm not too crazy about kwek-kwek but I love quail eggs so I think i'm gonna try cooking tokneneng this season. The photos make the tokneneng look delectable; the trivia is informative as I learned that quail eggs have more cholesterol than chicken eggs.

Honey said...

my husband really loves to eat kwek-kwek, whe sometimes buy in the mall and along the street... i have been fascinated how the street vendors make the perfect kwek-kwek...i tried it once but the egg separates from the coating so that husband would just eat it up just to please me! thanks for sharing the recipe... i think i must try it as soon as possible...

iNg said...

just cooked kwek-kwek today. i was wondering what to do so that the batter would cling on the egg. now i know... coat the eggs with flour first before coatong with the batter. woohooo!!! tnx to you. ;D

Anonymous said...

Mmm! this looks good. I think I'll try to cook it this week. Do you have to use white vinegar or can you use apple vinegar?

anneski:) said...

hi everyone, thanks for the compliments!

frosty, white vinegar and cane vinegar is what's usually paired with tokneneng/kwek-kwek around here. personally i haven't tried eating it with apple vinegar so i can't say how it'll turn out. :) do let us know (how it works out) if you do.

cheers!

Anonymous said...

I tried it yesterday, it was a hit for my 5-year old son! He can't get enough of it! Nways, the real challenge for me is how to keep the batter sticking into the egg... but I did it! Thanks for the recipe... I will be cooking one soon...

Jhing from Chicago

anneski:) said...

Hi Jhing! Glad your son liked it. :) Cheers!

Anonymous said...

http://medallaquailfarm.multiply.com/photos/album/11/KWEK_KWEK

i think baligtad yung fact mo regarding cholesterol level....

anneski:) said...

Not really, considering:

1) The average weight of a chicken egg is 57 grams (or 57,000 mg), and its cholesterol content, 201 mg.

2) The average weight of a quail egg is 4.31 grams (or 4,310 mg), and its cholesterol content, 76 mg.

Doing the math, the cholesterol to weight percentage is:

1) 0.35% for the chicken egg (201 mg/57000mg); versus

2)1.76% for the quail egg (76 mg/4310 mg).

More than three times pa nga eh!

Anonymous said...

kwek kwek is the baby version of tokneneng.. not the other way around.. kwek kwek.. comes from the word quail...

Bu lai said...

I use bing.

Tried ur recipe, my ratio for flour and water is 1:1, added a little more flour to achieve the right consistency so the batter wouldnt fall out of the eggs even with the dusting, and i added baking powder to make the kweks puff. I recommend using a hand mixer if preparing for more kweks!

Anonymous said...

Hello Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.

tricia said...

yehey something to read and learn to from miss anne hehe. yummy.thanks for sharing your blog on facebook.