TOKNENENG AND KWEK-KWEK

Ingredients

• 18 to 20 pcs chicken eggs or native duck itik eggs (for Tokneneng) or 3 dozen of quail eggs (for Kwek-kwek)
• 6 Tbsp. cornstarch
• cooking oil for deep frying

For the batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• orange food coloring

For the dipping sauce:

• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 pc red onion chopped finely
• 1 pc siling labuyo or chili pepper optional

Instructions

How to cook tokneneng or kwek kwek:

1. Boil the eggs in water for 10 to 15 minutes and add a little salt. Don’t cover the pot while cooking the eggs to avoid cracks on the shells. Drain the eggs and put tap water to cool.
2. Peel the eggs and coat with cornstarch. Set aside.
3. To make the batter; in a bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper and water.
4. Mix the batter using a fork or an electric hand mixer and mix until all the lumps disappear.
5. While mixing, add a few drops of food coloring if you are using liquid coloring or if powdered, start with a small amount until the desired orange color is achieved.
6. In a deep frying pan, heat enough oil to deep fry the eggs. Put the eggs in the batter and use a spoon to scoop the eggs from the batter then put it in hot oil one by one.
7. Don’t overcrowd the pan with eggs. 3 to 4 eggs per batch is enough to avoid the battered eggs from sticking with each other.
8. Fry until the batter is crispy and remove from pan using a slotted spoon. Drain with paper towels or use a strainer to drain excess oil. Serve hot with dipping sauce.
9. To make the dipping sauce; just combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, onions, water and chili. Mix very well until all the sugar is dissolved.