This recipe was first published in The Sunday Times on Nov 28, 2010.
STUFFED QUAIL WITH SIEW YOKE GLUTINOUS RICE AND CRANBERRY SAMBAL
By Willin Low, chef-owner of Wild Rocket in Upper Wilkie Road.
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CRANBERRY SAMBAL
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Ingredients:
2 Tbs belacan
20 fresh chillies
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs fresh or frozen cranberries
Method:
Toast the belacan, then blend everything together in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
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STUFFING
Ingredients:
3 cups glutinous rice
10 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and cut into small pieces
3 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup rice wine
3 tsp light soya sauce
3 tsp dark
soya sauce
3 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
7 roasted chestnuts, diced
70g siew yoke (roast pork), from your favourite hawker stall, cut into small pieces
2 cups chicken stock
Method:
1. Wash and rinse the glutinous rice, and soak in water overnight.
2. The next day, rinse the glutinous rice again until the water runs clear. Sieve and set aside.
3. Drain the mushrooms, but keep the water and set it aside for use later.
4. Heat up the canola oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms till fragrant. Add the rice wine, soya sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
5. Add rice, chestnuts and siew yoke to the mushrooms and toss well. Add stock and return to stove.
6. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on low heat until the liquid has evaporated.
7. When the rice is cooked through, take it off the stove and stir it to distribute the ingredients evenly.
8. Just before stuffing the quail, sprinkle some of the water that was used to soak the mushrooms over the rice to prevent it from drying out in the oven.
QUAIL
Ingredients:
10 quails, boneless or deboned
3 Tbs melted butter
½ cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
salt and pepper for seasoning
10 rashers of streaky bacon
1 sprig of rosemary
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.
2. Brush the quails with melted butter, olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place each quail skin-side down and spoon some of the glutinous rice mixture in the centre.
4. Wrap each quail with a bacon rasher and secure the bacon with a toothpick.
5. Place the quails on an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes.
6. Serve with some cranberry sambal on the side.
Makes 10 quails.
