Kwek-kwek made of quail eggs coated with an orange batter and deep-fried to golden perfection. This popular Filipino street food is fun to eat and delicious served with spicy vinegar or special dipping sauce.
Hello, everyone! I apologize for being MIA the last few weeks. I am in the Philippines right now, and between people to see and places to go, I haven’t been able to do blog work.
Also, the internet connection here at my mom’s house has been a total headache. I’d be in the middle of posting a recipe, and it’d die out on me so to save myself from further frustration, I thought I’d enjoy my vacation and make it up to you when I get back to the U.S.
Today, however, I am breaking my R&R to bring you this updated kwek-kwek recipe. I posted my version of these battered quail eggs in 2013, but I learned a new (and better) way to make them during this trip.
I went on a street food spree with a couple of friends a few days ago, and we had our fill of fish balls, inihaw pork ears, adidas, and of course, tokneneng, and kwek-kwek. I am not sure if it was because of the thrill of eating food on the street, but everything we ate was terrific!
Fortunately, the vendor was easy to bribe with kind words. I said the kwek-kwek was the best I’ve ever tasted, and she eagerly parted with her trade secrets, which I, of course, happily took notes of. 🙂
Since the quail eggs are the star of the show here, please check out the tips below on how to cook hard-boiled eggs and how to easily peel them. If you want to save yourself a few minutes of prep time, feel free to use canned quail eggs available at most Asian supermarkets.
Cooking quail eggs
Since these minute eggs are the star of the show, it’s important to prepare them properly.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, bring enough water to cover the eggs about one inch into a full boil.
- Using a ladle or large spoon, gently lower the eggs into the water.
- Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the eggs using a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Allow to cool.
- Gently tap the eggs on a hard surface to crack the shell and return to the ice bath for about 1 minute.
- Peel away the membrane between the egg and shell. Rinse to remove any stray bits of shell.
Helpful tips
- My previous recipe was a little bit more elaborate with baking powder and beaten eggs added to the batter along with atsuete powder for color and chicken base, salt, and pepper for flavor. This version below that I learned from the vendor only has flour, water, salt, pepper, orange food coloring, and one key ingredient–> MAGIC SARAP!
- Orange food coloring is traditionally used to give the kwek-kwek their characteristic hue. Feel free to substitute atsuete powder if you prefer a natural color enhancer.
- The wet mixture should thick but flow like a pancake batter. I find 1 cup of water to 1 cup of flour to be the perfect ratio. Add the water to the flour mixture slowly, whisking vigorously as you pour.
- One of the tips the vendor told me is to let the batter stand for about 4 to 5 hours before using. I tested this step by using half the batter immediately and letting the remaining half stand for 5 hours. Although the 5-hour did have a better texture when fried, the difference is not that remarkable to warrant a long wait.
- The battered eggs are best when deep-fried; make sure the amount of oil is deep enough to cover the eggs fully during frying.
- Check your oil temperature and maintain at the optimal 350 to 375 F range. Too hot and the batter will burn before sufficiently cooked; too low and the eggs will absorb a lot more grease.
- Do not overcrowd the pan to keep the temperature from plummeting. Fry in batches as needed and make sure to bring the temperature back to 350 F before adding the next round.
- Don’t drain the fried eggs on paper towels as the escaping steam will make the breading soggy. For best texture, drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch oil drips.
Kwek-kwek are so fun to eat and tastes extra delicious dipped in a spicy vinegar or sweet and spicy fishball sauce. Choice your favorite below!
Spicy vinegar dip
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon chopped chili peppers.
- Over medium heat, bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.
Sweet and sour Manong’s special sauce
- In a saucepan, combine 2 cups water, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup fresh minced garlic, 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots, 1 tablespoon chopped chili pepper, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir well until well blended and free of lumps.
- Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring regularly, for about 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.
- Transfer to an airtight container and use as a dipping sauce.
Kwek-kwek
Ingredients
- 36 pieces quail eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
- 1 cup flour
- 1 packet (8 grams or about 1 1/2 teaspoons) Magic Sarap seasoning powder
- 1 teaspoon orange food coloring powder or annnato powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup water
- canola oil
For the Vinegar Sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 Thai chili peppers, stemmed and chopped
For the Special Sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup shallots, peeled and chopped
- 4 Thai chili peppers, stemmed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, Magic Sarap seasoning, orange food coloring, salt, and pepper. Whisk until blended.
- Add water and whisk until thick, smooth, and evenly colored. Use immediately or let stand for 4 to 5 hours.
- In a deep pan over medium heat, heat about 2-inch of oil to 350 F.
- In a shallow dish, place remaining 1/4 cup flour. Individually dredge egg in flour and then dip in the orange batter to fully coat.
- Carefully place the battered egg in the hot oil. Repeat with remaining eggs.
- Deep-fry for about 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning on sides as needed.
- With a slotted spoon, remove eggs from the pan and drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Serve immediately with choice of dipping sauce.
For the Vinegar Sauce
- In a saucepan, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili peppers.
- Over medium heat, bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.
For the Special Sauce
- In a saucepan, combine water, soy sauce, garlic, shallots, chili pepper, brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Stir well until well blended and smooth.
- Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring regularly, for about 3 to 5 minute or until thickened. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hello ma’am may I ask what is the substitute for orange food color cause I don’t have it right now.thank u for the response
You can use atsuete powder 🙂
What’s an alternative for magic sarap?
You can use chicken base powder 🙂
Hi! What kind of flour did you use? Is rice flour gonna be fine?
I use all-purpose flour. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried rice flour for this recipe so I am not sure of the outcome 🙁
thank you for sharing
Can I use apple cider vinegar and tomato ketchup on the sauce?? Or it has to be white vinegar and banana ketchup?
You can use whatever dip you like 🙂
Sorry for the question again. Can I do the batter without the food coloring? Will it taste the same? I don’t have any in the pantr now and I am so craving for it.
Hi Jec,
You can skip the food coloring if you don’t have. It’s really more aesthetic than for flavor. Enjoy!
i always go to taguig city at fti. they have this wonderful sauce for this recipe.
it was a mixture of cucumber, vinegar, onion and chili. try it…. it’s so nice for the dip
I made this today and the batter is flavorful. I used regular eggs instead of quail eggs because I don’t have one. I made a mistake of making the sauce (I didn’t heat it up) but its pretty tasty. Thanks Lalaine for sharing.
I believe they’re called tokneneng when regular eggs are used 🙂
Will going to try this one of these days. But let me clarify the cooking time: 15 hours????
Thanks, corrected recipe 🙂