Quail egg shots

Serves 6-8

(JASON LOWE)

I discovered this dish in one of my favourite New York haunts, the Fatty Crab in Hudson Street. It's a scruffy joint that serves great Malaysian-style food.

I've nicked the concept for Mark's Bar and used finely chopped crispy bacon; or you could go veggie and use some chopped-up Chinese black beans. Eat them like shots by just squeezing them into your mouth.

12-16 quails' eggs
2-4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon with the rind removed
2tsp finely-chopped chives
Coarse sea salt to serve

Grill or fry the bacon until crisp then leave to cool and chop as finely as you can and mix with the chives. Bring a pan of water to the boil and carefully lower the quails' eggs in with a slotted spoon. Simmer for 20 seconds, then drain and run under the cold tap briefly.

Spoon the sea salt on to a serving dish, cut the tops off the quails' eggs, stand them in the salt and spoon the bacon mixture on top of each one; serve immediately.