Tuesday 4 August 2015

Twice cooked quail

I used the Chinese method of Peking Duck but applied it to the lovely little quails we get here locally sourced.  I halved each quail and took out the wishbone, then left them on a plate in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin.  I made a master stock with a soy sauce caramel base, star anise, black pepper, chilli, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, onion, vinegar and water.  Once boiling I added my quail for about 4 minutes.  I took them out of the liquid, dusted the skin with ground star anise and black pepper and put them again in the fridge uncovered until I was ready to serve, frying them in hot vegetable oil until crisp for a couple of minutes.  Meanwhile I poured some of the stock liquid into a pan (I froze the rest for when I cook this dish again) and reduced it to a delicious sauce consistence, checking the balance of flavour.  

The result?  Finger licking quail deliciousness.  The quail was perfectly cooked inside to pink, the skin crispy and delicious. 
Paired with a simple shaved cucumber salad, beetroot and fresh coriander salad with the reduced stock sauce on the side.  Flat bread made the perfect accompaniment but would also work well with steamed sticky rice with it's chewy texture.


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