Saturday 31 August 2013

Cajun-style Spicy Pickled Quail Eggs


You are probably wondering why on earth am I making pickled quail eggs again after my not so successful attempt here. Well, you know me. I don't know when to give up :)



I searched the internet again for another recipe and found Cajun-style Spicy Pickled Quail Eggs. I had to give these pickled eggs another go before deciding if it was good or not. This time round some of the ingredients were slightly different. Rice vinegar is used instead of white wine vinegar. And then there is coriander seeds, chili flakes and cane syrup. Other common ingredients are whole peppercorns, allspice berries and of course, salt.



I had all the ingredients except for cane syrup, allspice berries and chilli flakes. So I had to improvise again and substituted with honey, fennel seeds and sweet paprika. The smell of the pickling liquid this time round was much better, vinegary with hints of the aromatic bay leaves and spices.



I boiled 30 quails eggs but 4 were unusable because I exposed the yolks accidentally while peeling. But they were not wasted, they went straight into my mouth :) 

Since the Egg theme on LTU will end today, I am tasting the eggs one week shy of the recommended pickling time. Hmmm.....not bad, way better than the first recipe. I wish that the spices had a stronger aroma, maybe my spices were not so fresh when I used them. I believe with a bit of tweaking, this recipe could work for me. Next time, I will make sure that my spices are fresh so that they would exude  a stronger aroma and I would add more honey to lessen the tartness of the vinegar. These pickled eggs would be a good addition to my salad. No waste this time. I am eating the pickled eggs!












Cajun-stye Spicy Pickled Quail Eggs
Recipe source : Green Basket
(My adaptations and notes in red)

Ingredients :
- 2 dozen quail eggs, at least a week old (this is to make sure it is easier to peel)
- 1.5 cups rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp cane syrup (I replaced with honey)
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries (I replaced with fennel seeds)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (I replaced with 1 teaspoon sweet paprika)
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- scant teaspoon salt

Method :
1. Sterilize a pint jar (I used 2 old St Dalfour jam jars)
2. Put eggs in a pan, cover with water. Bring to a slow boil, turn off and plunge them in ice water. If you cook the eggs too "hard" they'll get rubbery in the brine. As soon as they're cool enough to handle, peel them carefully and set aside to cool and dry. (I simmered the eggs for about 5 minutes)
3. Combine rice vinegar, spices and salt in a small pan and bring to a furious boil. Set aside and let cool.
4. Carefully pack the eggs in the clean jar. They won't quite fill up.
5. Strain the brine and take out the bay leaves and coriander seeds and carefully poke them down among the eggs with a chopstick. Be careful not to break the eggs or the exposed yolk will make the brine murky.
6. Then pour the brine over until the eggs are completely covered, and finally scatter the remaining spices from the brine over the eggs with a spoon.
7. Cap the jar tightly and gently shake to make sure tthe spices are distributed evenly.
8. Store in the fridge for two weeks before serving.

Photobucket

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out.

22 comments:

  1. Phong Hong. What a special pickled quail eggs, thanks for sharing but I wonder what the taste like and how long we could keep it after it was kept in the fridge for 2 weeks?

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    1. Jozelyn, it taste sour and salty. I need to adjust the recipe and I will be working on it because I like the idea of pickled eggs. The previous recipe said to use them within a month but I think the sooner, the better.

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  2. Hi Phong Hong, another round of pickled eggs.... look nice! So next round pickled eggs salad?

    Have a nice weekend.

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    1. Amelia, I will add them to me salad. I think it will be nice :)

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  3. Hi Phong Hong
    Aah.....another try of pickled eggs. I never tasted pickled eggs before other than the herbal tea eggs. How nice I can just have one from you to test taste it.

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    1. Mel, frankly the herbal tea eggs are more delicious. But I still want to work on the pickled eggs. Maybe a Malaysian version :)

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  4. Way to go! Its good you don't give up!

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  5. COOL! At last you found a pickling recipe you like. Thanks so much for your support this month to LTU! Appreciate it.

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  6. Hey Pong Hong, did you hear your door bell ringing? Quay Po is out there waiting to get that bottle of pickled quail eggs from you! hehe

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    Replies
    1. Oh dear! I didn't hear you, Quay Po hee..hee...I have one bottle still unopened!

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  7. Hi to the perfectionist Phong Hong!

    I laughed reading about you eating those imperfect egg while sorting the eggs for pickling... Sounds like me :p

    You know what??? Good that we both are not wasting food!!!

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. Zoe, this batch is better! Hah! Hah! I love to "sample" food while cooking :)

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  8. again?? haha..you really love quail eggs...at one time i read about quail eggs and it says that it combats diseases..and not as highly cholestorel as what we think..but i forgot already now what other info it says...

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    1. Hi Lena, ya I love quail eggs! I just had to try it again and I believe I can make a better version in future.

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  9. I've never had quail eggs, wouldn't even know where I could get them here, in South Florida...maybe the organic market, or Asian market? They certainly do not sell them at our supermarkets.

    I love how you bottled the eggs and the spices you used...awesome job you did with the quail eggs, Phong Hong!

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    1. Hi Elisabeth! Oh, I did not know that you can't get these at the supermarkets. These quail eggs are good on their own. I was just curious about pickling them and wanted to find a better recipe. Glad you liked the bottling and spices!

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing my recipe! I am glad you liked it. I am cracking open my last jar for Thanksgiving dinner!

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    1. Hi Andi! Wow, you made your way here! Many thanks to you for the recipe as it is something so unique and makes quail eggs enjoyable in a different way :)

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