“Tokneneng, a famous Tempura-like Filipino street food, made by deep-frying orange batter covered hard-boiled eggs. A popular variation of Tokneneng is kwek kwek. The main difference between the two lies in the egg that is used. Tokneneng is traditionally made with quail eggs or "itlog ng pugo", while kwek kwek is made with chicken or duck eggs. Due to their similarities, the two are often confused with some people calling tokneneng "kwek kwek" and vice versa. Tokneneng is usually served with a spiced vinegar-based dip.” ~Wikipedia
How to eat
You can often find kwek-kwek (quail eggs) and penoy (big egg) being sold in sidewalks here in the Philippines. Some may even have 'balut' version. Vendors also have other foods on display like lumpia, hotdogs, bananas, tofu, etc. Each kwek-kwek usually sell for 3 Pesos. You can see them piled on a tray or already on a stick. While the penoys typically sell for 10-12 Pesos.
You just walk over and grab a bowl or plastic cup, scoop some sauces (usually vinegar and sweet sauce), then take some eggs. You can also request to re-heat the eggs to make the coating crunchier and more delicious to eat. It is strongly discouraged that you dip the eggs directly into the bottle as courtesy for others, and for hygienic purposes.
Eat it as it is from the stick, try it with rice, or make it your beer buddy. It doesn't matter. Don't forget to savor the creamy core of this scrumptious meal.
Everywhere you go, the taste will always be the same. Others have thicker batter/coating and those are my preferred choices. You will notice that the flavor of sauces vary from vendor to vendor, some you will like more than others, which is the make or break. For example, some add black pepper to their vinegar, others more onions, cucumber, kalamansi, or red chili.
"Delicious factors" are what determine if I like it or not. Here are my preferences...
✔ Thick crunchy coating, freshly fried/heated
✔ Vinegar -- is it too sour or has no kick?
✔ Black pepper and herbs makes the vinegar more delicious
✔ Some coatings are saltier and like it better that way, rather than matabang
The farthest I could push myself to eat kwek-kwek is 20+ pieces. It didn't give me any bad effects, partly thanks to the tea, which is a strong diuretic and detox beverage. One time, I took it to the next level by making them bathe in mayonnaise before eating. But usually, my regular consumption is about 10 pieces. If you know anyone who hasn't eaten those things, it's about time you shared this experience with your friends!
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| This was my regular dinner when I was still a student. Even now that I'm working, I still regularly have this as my lunch time ulam! =) |
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| Price as of 2012. |
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