Century Eggs / Preserved Eggs (’pi dan’ in Mandarin)
Legend has it that century eggs are made by soaking duck eggs in horse urine! The truth is that the eggs are preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime and rice straw for several weeks to months. When cooked, the egg white has a gelatinous texture, looks dark brown and transparent, while the egg yolk is creamy and looks grayish-green. Century eggs have a pungent smell and are typically eaten with preserved ginger.
Salted Duck Eggs (’xian dan’ in Mandarin)
This is a Chinese preserved food. It is made by soaking whole raw ducks eggs in brine or wrapped in heavily salted clay for about a month. This results in a very liquid egg white and a bright orange-red, round and firm yolk. Typically eaten with congee, and also used as an ingredient in moon cakes and rice dumplings.
Half boiled egg
Room temperature eggs are placed into boiling hot water and left to cook for 4 minutes. The result? You get a soft and wet egg yolk and white, slippery enough to be slurped down in one breath! Usually served with a few drops of dark soy sauce and a dash of white pepper. A popular breakfast item in Singapore, eaten with toasted bread.
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