Salt & pepper quails with Thai herb & bean salad
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- More effort
- Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 quails
For the rub
- thumb-size piece ginger, roughly chopped
- 4 coriander sprigs, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
For the paste
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
- 2 tsp flour
For the salad
- 1 large red chilli, finely shredded
- 6 snake beans or a good handful green beans, blanched (cut into lengths if using snake beans) - see tip
- ½ tsp lime leaves, finely shredded
- small handful each coriander, Thai basil and flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
- few mint sprigs, leaves picked
- 2 Thai shallots, or 2 small shallots, sliced
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced on an angle
- 1 small red chilli, shredded
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 4 tsp palm sugar or soft light brown sugar
Method
- STEP 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put all the rub ingredients in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them together, then rub some inside each quail.
- STEP 2
For the paste, again grind 1 tsp sea salt and the pepper together in a mortar using a pestle, then stir in the oil and flour.
- STEP 3
Heat a little vegetable oil in a heavybased frying pan and carefully brown the quails all over – in batches if you need. Lift into a roasting tin, rub all over with the salt and pepper paste, then roast in the oven for 10-15 mins until golden and cooked to your liking.
- STEP 4
For the salad, pound the dressing ingredients together using a mortar and pestle. Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Just before serving, toss the dressing with the salad and serve alongside the quail and rice.
