I have recently purchase a new laptop too which has only made me play the game more however that has developed a fault and is on it's way back to the manufacturer to get fixed......losing all my game data in the process :-(
Anyway since my last post I have been experimenting away in the kitchen trying to create some scotch quails eggs after being inspired to do so by my friends at LSQ2. My initial attempt was good but I put far too much casing around the quails eggs and this mean't that they were a bit heavy eating.
I also mixed in some brown shrimp with the tiger prawn casing mixture as well as a splash of Thai fish sauce which made it a bit too fishy and this drew some flavour away from the egg itself which in my opinion should be the star of the show.
Big pluses from this attempt though was the firstly the use of fennel seeds in the casing and then serving the completed scotch eggs with a teriyake glaze with I admit was a shop bought one from Waitrose.
LSQ2 serve their original version of this dish up with XO sauce which is very tasty and incredible rich, it also takes a multitude of ingredients to make which unfortunately I don't have in the store cupboard. LSQ2 have actually posted the full recipe for their original version on their Facebook page so go and have a look.
Preparation really is the key to making these scotch eggs. It's quite a delicate operation getting the quails eggs cooked and peeled before encasing them, getting them crumbed and finally deep frying them until golden brown.
Unlike the store bought scotch eggs you get these are cased in minced tiger prawns rather than sausage meat. It gives them a much lighter texture and the combination of fish and egg is a classic, a fish pie just isn't a proper fish pie unless it has hard boiled eggs in it and let us too not forget the time honoured curry flavoured breakfast classic that is kedgeree.
As I mentioned earlier I think that the star of this show is the quails eggs themselves. I think the whole point of this would be lost if you overcook them, it's absolutely essential to the success of the dish to have a runny yolk.
To achieve this you must first bring a saucepan of water to the boil and close to hand should be another bowl of iced water. Four whole quails eggs should be put into the water and cooked for exactly two minutes before being removed and put immediately into the cooling water to stop the cooking process. If you take them off the boil before the two minutes is up you run the risk of the egg white not being set enough to handle after shelling and if cooked for more than two minutes you will start to set the yolk.
After around 10 minutes of cooling carefully peel the shells from the eggs. You need to be really delicate here because you don't want the yolk sac to break. You may find that some of the egg white comes away with the shell but don't worry too much about this they can still be used. The casing will protect the yolk as long as that part of the egg is still intact. When done set them aside ready to be cased.
Next up is to prepare the actual casing and it really couldn't be easier. Just get all the ingredients list below and blitz up in a blender until its the consistency you want. Personally I like a bit of texture in mine rather than a smooth paste but it's entirely up to you, the flavours will be there regardless of how much you mince it up.
100g x Uncooked tiger prawns
1 x Good pinch of fennel seeds
1 x Small clove of garlic
1 x Pinch of ground ginger
1 x Slice of dried galangal (optional)
1/2 x Spring onion (slice lengthways leaving plenty of the green top)
1 x Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
The final part of the assembly if the breadcrumbs. You can get some already prepared from the supermarket or you can just make your own. I prefer the latter just because it's so easy. In our house we tend to use the "best of both" white/brown bread and all I do is take 2 slices of this which I harden up a little in a hot oven before blitzing up with some seasoning. Takes just a few mins from start to finish and costs pennies.
Empty the breadcrumbs into a bowl and alongside this have two further bowls one containing a beaten egg and the other some plain flour. No you are ready to get messy and form your scotch quails eggs.
Firstly take a piece of the prawn mixture and put it in the centre of your hand. Flatten it out a bit so it's between 5mm and 10mm in thickness then lay on top of this one of the quails eggs. Now very carefully build up the prawn coating around the egg until it's completely encased, it'll be very sticky but you'll get there eventually. Ideally once done it should be just a bit larger than golf ball size.
Drop the ball into the flour and give it a thin coating before double dipping in the egg and breadcrumbs. Double dipping means to coat the ball in the beaten egg, then cover in breadcrumbs and then repeating again to ensure you have a good crust.
Repeat this process for the remaining 3 eggs then you are ready to deep fry. I use rapeseed oil when deep frying but you could also use sunflower or vegetable oil. whichever you decide to use the most important thing to get right is the temperature at which you have the oil. Too cool and it'll make the finished eggs greasy, too hot and you'll end up with a raw prawn casing, especially if you have made the casing too thick.
I test the temperature of the oil by use a piece of bread. Just drop it into the oil and if boils ferociously it's too hot and if it just bubbles around the bread it's too cool, you want to get a happy medium between these too. Everybody knows hot oil can be dangerous so do be careful, make sure people stay away from the hob when you are doing this and at any time there is hot oil around afterwards.
Carefully lower the formed scotched eggs into the hot oil with a slotted spoon and fry them off until the are evenly golden brown all over. Let them stand for a few minutes on some kitchen paper the serve sliced in half and drizzled with teriyaki glaze.
Go on...give it a go....toodlepip :-)
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