Tokneneng

*Tokneneng*
	Kwek kwek, a popular variant of tokneneng made with quail eggs
Course	Snack
Place of origin	Philippines
Main ingredients	Hard-boiled quail egg, batter
Variations	Kwek kwek
	Media: Tokneneng;

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. To cook a kwek kwek the cooking oil needs to be atleast 160°F (71°C).

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.^[3] 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. ^[3]^[5]