Tusok-Tusok Basket with "Manong" Sauce
(too-sok too-sok)
Merienda & The After-School Hustle
The Filipino after-school special. On the streets of Manila, vendors push wooden carts equipped with bubbling woks, selling skewers of fishballs and vibrant orange kwek-kwek. You point, poke, and dunk heavily into a communal jar of sweet, garlicky sauce. We can't endorse the double-dip anymore, but we can nail that hyper-authentic flavor on a Tuesday night. The street vendor's secret isn't a complex technique; it's respecting the exact ratio of starches in the cold slurry. Keep a freezer stash of fishballs, and this becomes the most visceral, nostalgic weeknight merienda imaginable.
Before you start
Boil the quail eggs.
If using fresh quail eggs instead of canned, boil them for exactly 4 to 5 minutes, then plunge immediately into an ice-water bath to halt the cooking before peeling.
Ingredients
- cold water3 cup
- dark brown sugar3/4 cup
- soy sauce1/4 cup
- all-purpose flour2 tbsp
- cornstarch2 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- garlic4 cloves
- red onion1 small
- bird's eye chilies2
- quail eggs24
- cornstarch1/4 cup
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- cornstarch3 tbsp
- baking powder1 tsp
- annatto powder1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- cold water3/4 cup
- neutral oil1 qt
- frozen fishballs1 bag
- frozen squid balls1 bag
- frozen kikiam1 bag
Method
- 01
Brew the cold slurry.
Off the heat, whisk the 3 cups of cold water, brown sugar, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper until completely smooth; adding starches to hot liquid will create an unfixable, lumpy disaster.
- 02
Simmer to a glossy glaze.
Stir in the minced garlic, red onion, and chilies, then place over medium-low heat, whisking continuously for 4 to 6 minutes until the sauce bubbles and suddenly transforms into a thick, syrupy glaze that coats the back of a spoon.
- 03
Dredge the quail eggs.
Roll the thoroughly dried, peeled quail eggs in the 1/4 cup of dredging cornstarch until lightly coated; this dry layer is the essential primer that prevents the wet batter from slipping off in the fryer.
- 04
Mix the neon orange batter.
Whisk the 1 cup of flour, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, baking powder, annatto powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then gradually pour in the 3/4 cup of cold water until you have a smooth, vibrant batter resembling pancake mix.
- 05
Fry the commercial basket.
In a heavy pot with 2 inches of 350°F neutral oil, fry the frozen fishballs, squid balls, and kikiam for 3 to 5 minutes until they puff dramatically and float to the surface, then transfer to a wire rack.
- 06
Fry the kwek-kwek.
Drop the cornstarch-dredged eggs into the orange batter, lift them out to let excess drip off, and gently drop into the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes until crispy and slightly puffed.
- 07
Serve the tusok-tusok way.
Pile everything onto a massive platter, hand everyone a bamboo skewer to poke their chosen street food, and dip heavily into the Manong sauce.
Notes
The sauce gets thicker as it cools.
If it sits in the fridge and becomes too gelatinous to dip, a quick 30-second burst in the microwave or a gentle reheat on the stove with a splash of water will return it to a viscous, flowing state.
Annatto powder sourcing.
Achiote molido can be easily found in the Hispanic aisle of most American supermarkets; if absolutely necessary, substitute with a few drops of liquid orange food coloring in the batter's water.
From Cook Filipino in America.