QUAIL EGG CROQUETTE PUFFS
3 min readThis recipe involves some intricate work and the pastry is pretty temperamental，being humidity dependent，so for the most part，I delegate the making of these puffs in the restaurant to my sous chef May May，as she is a milion times more patient than I am.While I have given specific quantities for the ingredients，the exact requirements are dependent on how much boiling water is added to the wheat starch in the first step，which is why we use proportions at each stage，asI have highlighted in the method.
Makes 12 dumplings
INGREDIENTS
200g wheat starch
about 100ml boiling water
5 eggs，boiled for 9 minutes，yolks extracted
about 65g butter，at room temperature，diced
about 65g white vegetable fat，at room temperature，diced
3g baking powder
12 quaileggs
1litre cold water mixed with 2 tablespoons rice vinegar vegetable oil，for deep-frying
To serve
Crispy Seaweed
Ginger&Spring Onion Sesame Oil
1.Place the wheat starch in a bowl and，stirring constantly，slowly add enough of the boiling water in a thin stream until the mixture is just about to come together into a dough.Take great carehere，as adding the water too quickly will result in an overly firm dough，but add it too slowly and it will be undercooked and powdery.
2.Check the weight of the dough and add one-third of that weight of cooked egg yolks，kneading in until you have a smooth dough.
3.Check the weight of the dough again and add one-sixth of that weight of butter and the same quantity of white fat，kneading in until well combined.
4.Lastly，knead the baking powder in until evenly incorporated.
5.Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for an hour to firm up before using.
6.Carefully place the quail eggs in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 1 minute 45 seconds，then immediately drain and plunge into a bowl of iced water.
7.Once cool，transfer the eggs to a separate bowl containing the cold water and vinegar and leave them to soak for an hour.This will soften the shells and make the eggs easier to peel.
8.Drain the eggs，peel carefully and refrigerate until needed.
9.Divide the dough into 12 portions.Use 1 portion to wrap each egg，being careful not to break the yolks.Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour until firm.
10.Heat the oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer to 180C.Deep-fry the eggs，in small batches，holding them just below the surface of the oil with a spoon，until just golden.Remove witha slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
11.Serve on a bed of Crispy Seaweed with the Ginger&Spring Onion Sesame Oil alongside.
CHEF’S TIP
When deep-frying the puffs，be careful to keep the oil at the required temperature.If it is too high，the pastry will disintegrate into the oil，but if not hot enough，you will end up with a solid，honeycomb-like exterior，which is not the desired result.A perfectly cooked puff will have a coating that resembles a golden hairy coconut husk.
