Recipe: Thai-style pickled quail eggs

Use a gentle white balsamic vinegar for the pickle rather than a harsh-tasting cheap one. These are ready to eat after just 24 hours but you can eat them from the fridge for up to three days.

Serve them with cashews, stir-fried in a hot wok until evenly golden then scattered with sea salt crystals and chopped red chilli. Eat with a long glass of Chang beer and be transported to a beach in Thailand.

Fill a pan with boiling water and lower the heat before gently putting four or six eggs at a time into the water (this avoids cracking the shell). Turn up the heat to a simmer for three minutes.

Lift the eggs into a bowl of cold water and continue cooking the rest. Straight away, crack and peel the cooked eggs from the rounded end (it’s easier this way).

Put half the white balsamic vinegar in a small pan with the sugar and lemon grass. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the vinegar and water, kaffir shreds, chilli and shallots.

Put half the eggs in a clean jar, add some of the vinegar mixture and the other ingredients, then continue to layer up and finish with a covering of vinegar. Cover with a lid and leave to cool completely. Chill and keep for up to three days.