Izakayas are Japanese food-focused bars (or drink-focused restaurants, depending on what you’re there for), roughly analogous to the Australian pub. One of the biggest differences between a pub and an izakaya, though, is that you nearly always have to eat something when you’re at an izakaya.
It explains why so many dishes at izakayas wash down perfectly with a beer, sake or whisky – it’s literally what they are designed for.
Suntory Toki Hour is a six-week all-day special that showcases how well Suntory’s Toki Whisky pairs with food. So when head chef Erik Ortolani at Ito, an izakaya-inspired Japanese-Italian restaurant in Sydney’s Surry Hills, chose the signature snack for the event it was an easy decision.
“We wanted a simple, classic snack and I thought it would be great to do a take on karaage [fried chicken],” he says. “The gamey, dark meat of quail elevates the dish,” Ortolani says. “Whereas chicken dries out quite quickly, the quail has a bit more complexity and textures going on.”
If you’d rather leave making this quail karaage to the professionals, head over to Ito. Until May 12, it’s hosting Suntory Toki Hour where you can get the quail karaage alongside drinks like a tall highball filled with Suntory Toki Whisky, soda and grapefruit peel, or another highball variation made with Suntory Toki Whisky, sake caramel and roasted grape soda.
“The greasiness and the crunchiness of [karaage] pairs perfectly with a fresh highball,” Ortolani says. “And the citrusy notes in the highball pair with fried quail really well.”
For home cooking, the only element Ortolani says is essential is to put those skewers through the quail, which will help them keep their shape. If you can’t find boneless quail, it’s more than fine to sub in classic chicken, too. Ortolani recommends chicken leg, Maryland-style. And don’t forget to make a Suntory Toki Whisky highball once it’s time to eat, for the full experience.
Ito’s quail karaage with burnt capsicum agrodolce and radish
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins (plus overnight marination)
Cooking time: 25 ins
Prepare the quail the night before.
Ingredients
4 boneless, butterflied large quails
1 bag Yi Feng tapioca starch (or coarsely blitzed tapioca pearls)
3 egg whites
Oil for frying (vegetable, canola or rice bran)
8 bamboo skewers
Quail marinade
20g Japanese curry powder
40g cooking sake
7g table salt
Pickled daikon
1 whole daikon, peeled, sliced 1mm thick with a mandolin and washed
400ml rice vinegar
200g caster sugar
200ml water
Burnt capsicum agrodolce
220ml rice vinegar
35g brown sugar
35g glucose
100g burnt red capsicum flesh (you can use preserved red capsicum from the jar, or fresh ones charred on open flame and rested overnight)
6g salt
Method
Whisk quail marinade ingredients together.
Cut the quails in half, following the breast parting. Rub the marinade through the quails and rest in the fridge overnight.
For the pickled daikon, bring rice vinegar, sugar and water to a boil in the pot. Once the pickling liquid is cooled down, pour into a jar over the sliced daikon. Also refrigerate overnight.
The next day, drain the excess marinade and pat quails dry with a kitchen cloth. Skewer the quail halves, entering from the top of the breast and following the leg bone, making sure not to pierce the skin.
Dip the quails in egg whites and toss through tapioca starch. Press lightly so the starch sticks.
To make the agrodolce, simmer all ingredients together until the mixture becomes a syrupy consistency and reduces by half.
Blitz at maximum speed with a blender for 5 minutes while still warm. Make sure the glaze is completely smooth.
Heat up the oil to 180°C in a pot. Deep-fry the quail skewers for 3 minutes.
Once crispy, brush a small amount of agrodolce glaze on both sides of the quail. Serve with pickled daikon on the side.
*This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Suntory Toki Whisky
