Five-spice quail

A lot of people don’t like quail because they say it’s too fiddly with too many bones. To me, that is the beauty of it! Quail is the ultimate finger food and is meant to be eaten with your hands. With this spice mixture on the birds, you’ll also be licking your fingers after the meal.

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 quail, butterflied
• 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1 litre peanut oil

Resting time 5 minutes

Instructions

Place quail into a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes, then drain the quail and pat dry on paper towel.

Grind the whole spices in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until fine. Transfer to a bowl, add the Chinese five-spice, salt and flour and combine well.

Heat the oil in a wok or a deep saucepan over high heat. Working in batches, dust the quail in the flour mixture, then carefully place into the oil - the oil should start to bubble around the edges of the quail. Cook the quail for 5 minutes or until golden and just cooked through but still a little pink in the middle. Drain on paper towel and stand for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

This recipe is from Gourmet Farmer Afloat. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.