| Tokneneng | |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Course: | Snack |
| Main Ingredient: | Hard-boiled quail egg, batter |
| Variations: | Kwek kwek |
Tokneneng (or tukneneng) is a tempura-like Filipino street food made by deep-frying orange batter covered hard-boiled chicken or duck eggs.[1]
A popular variation of tokneneng is kwek kwek. Kwek kwek is traditionally made with quail eggs,[1] which are smaller, with batter made by mixing annatto powder or annatto seeds that have been soaked in water. Kwek kwek and tokeneneng are often falsely used interchangeably.
They are often sold by street food vendors around busy areas and are usually sold alongside fish balls, squid balls, and kikiam.
They are also usually served with either a non-spiced/spiced vinegar based dip, or a thick sweetened sauce which is made of flour, soy sauce, garlic, onions and sugar.[2]
The name tukneneng originated from the 1978 Pinoy komiks series Batute, illustrated by Vic Geronimo and created by Rene Villaroman. In the language of main character Batute, tukneneng means 'egg'.[3] [4]
Another origin story of the tokneneng and kwek kwek is when a balut vendor in Cubao accidentally dropped the balut she was selling on the ground and decided to peel off the shells and deep-fried them in batter instead of throwing it away and wasting them. Another possibility related to this is how balut and penoy vendors sell their leftovers to street eateries (karinderya), which in turn deep-fry them for next day's serving. [5]