Scrambled Quail Eggs with Yuzu Shichimi

Don’t these precious little gems look like some kind of exotic bonbons?

They’re quail eggs from my friend Rachel Bess, who raises chickens and quail in her CenPho backyard, better known as “Rachel’s Tiny Farm.” She blogs about her experiences, occasionally sells eggs at the Phoenix Public Market on Saturdays, and even wrote a book on the topic.

Her quail laid these beauties just yesterday. Today, they made a nice little breakfast for me. Turns out, you don’t crack them like a chicken eggs. Instead, you tap the end of the brittle shell, and then gently pick open the interior membrane, which is sturdier than that of a chicken egg.

A dozen quail eggs amounted to just enough for one serving of scrambled eggs. I added a bit of salt and some yuzu-flavored shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice mix), and cooked them up in butter. Yuzu makes everything better.

Here’s the view of my old O’Keefe & Merritt, with eggs almost ready and a pot of boiling water for matcha. Ohayo gozaimasu!