Comments on: Thousand Year Egg: Is it Edible?

By: o.0

o.0 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:56:40 +0000

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!

These things are delicious!!!

How are you chinese if you haven't had these?

The writer clearly doesn't know anything about these things:
1) They're not nearly that bad
2) He doesn't describe the taste

By: ted

ted — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:57:20 +0000

So they're not REALLY old eggs?

That's false advertising.

By: anon

anon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:54:55 +0000

It's an acquired taste. But it's no Balut.

By: Dray

Dray — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:05:03 +0000

Well I love eggs and I use eggs in everything I cook. I should give this a try sometime.

By: SpaceMonkeyX

SpaceMonkeyX — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:04:43 +0000

I have a friend who would beg to differ with those who say these "aren't so bad".

http://www.thingsjkeats.com/index.php?itemid=56

He videotaped himself eating one for a blog he writes. It's a riot. And does not look very appetizing.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:14:32 +0000

I absolutely love these century eggs! Despite the slight smell of sulphur or ammonia, the yolk tastes slightly nutty, salty, and like some kinds of cheeses and mushrooms, while the white tastes like a milder version. The texture of the white (or black, ha ha) is soft and jelly-ish while the yolk is creamy, slightly solid and liquid -- a little like 4/5 cooked yolks on sunny-side ups. It's not made in 1000 years -- it's ridiculous to think so, seriously -- how many century eggs could people a millenium ago bury? Anyway, it's merely made from highly alkaline materials including sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide and other naturally occuring alkalis. I made this in high school when I was in 15 with a bunch of chemicals. The whites couldn't solidify though, while the yolk was the right appearance. Other urban myths include that it was made from horse urine, but it isn't. Horse urine doesn't contain enough alkalis. It's the smell of the chemical reaction between the sulphur in the eggs and the alkaline solution which produces the 'urine' smell. It is also named Pi Dan (literally "skin egg") or in Cantonese dialect, Pei Dan. Song Hua Dan is another name for it.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:52:41 +0000

Where have you been these thousand years? (bad joke, sry)

Anyway, you get used to it once its over some congee and thin, fatless meat. It might be funky to the taste, but it's impressive nonetheless.
In fact, I love eating it, even though the process sounds disgusting.

By: Shae

Shae — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:11:00 +0000

Crack open a BALUT and let the party begin.

By: V

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:16:49 +0000

You don't have to eat thousand year egg with congee. The actual egg looks really weird, and possibly disgusting, and it doesn't taste like egg, but it doesn't taste completely gag-reflex-kicking either.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:34:45 +0000

Whaaat? You’re Chinese and haven’t had preserved eggs before? That's because I don't like congee! I like salted duck eggs, but I can't say I've ever tried preserved or fermented egg like the century egg.

By: Justcookit

Justcookit — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:56:53 +0000

Hi guys - OK, OK I admit it: There was some slight exaggeration there for comedic purposes but they are pretty disgusting. I have a fairly adventurous palate and these really weren't to my taste.

By: 6ixty

6ixty — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:45:43 +0000

for 'gross' factor, this has nothing on balut:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut

again, although it doesn't look pretty is also very tasty

By: pfelelep

pfelelep — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:41:27 +0000

...rotten tofu is also delicious (warning: french cheese-eater speaking)

By: JC

JC — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:35:30 +0000

Better than rotten tofu.

By: Warenwirtschaft

Warenwirtschaft — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:15:18 +0000

I couldn't eat such a egg. I can't believe that these eggs are really that good, and it looks really weird, maybe that's why i could never eat it.

By: samd

samd — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:09:12 +0000

My family used to enjoy these. So many memories... WE used to buy them covered in wood chips or something. Anyway, they're pretty common and, I agree, there is nothing yucky about it.

By: hanan

hanan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:31:11 +0000

Easiest way to start with preserved eggs is with ramen noodles

By: leongsoon

leongsoon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:57:47 +0000

For those of you who've never tried century eggs, you're missing out big! It's a common chinese food, really, we chop em up to pieces in porridge or we can steam it up with regular chicken or salted duck eggs (tasty)!! Of course, the simplest and best way to taste it is with thin ginger slices, and dash on em some sesame oil, simply scrumptious! Just don't be afraid and swallow it too fast; keep it in your mouth a bit, and let the taste linger, you will notice the yolk feels like it's melting, and it's very aromatic, great food!

By: Momotsuki

Momotsuki — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:49:06 +0000

I agree with the above post. You should try Century Egg Congee the next time you go Yumcha.

By: konaha

konaha — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:27:31 +0000

It actually taste great and is quite common for chinese... especially in porridge.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:39:54 +0000

It's delicious! What are you thinking?

By: Neatoramawontsendmeapassword

Neatoramawontsendmeapassword — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:10:24 +0000

Sounds gross. And they must've been for the rich, originally. If you were hungry, would you bury your egg and sit around waiting for it to... uh... ripen?

Bleh.

By: ted

ted — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:18:53 +0000

Who keeps eggs for that long? That's some serious investment.

By: Dani

Dani — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:12:05 +0000

You're Chinese and you never had that?!

WHATTT?

I've been eating that stuff since I was a little kid, especially with porridge and pork. YUM!

By: liltrix

liltrix — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:49:28 +0000

The proper Chinese name for preserved eggs is Songhua or Songhua Dan (pine-flower eggs)— so called because, when shelled, these solidified but semitransparent eggs show flowery patterns like pine needles inside. The more and the prettier the patterns, the higher is the quality of the egg. and its DUCK EGG... YUM!

By: liltrix

liltrix — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:47:18 +0000

aww common, thousand year eggs are fab! (a little ginger thinly sliced and soy, perhaps a dash of sesame oil keep it simple) on rice or tofu is delish... dont knock it till you try it... its very aromatic and nothing like sulfur and rot... theres alot less yummy things like silkworm larvae, (altho huhu grub from new Zealand ain't all bad, like a crunchy salty peanut butter) i think its one of those must do before you die things... and much like marmite/vegemite, it really is an acquired taste, but you never know you might just like it!

By: Stitchness

Stitchness — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:17:02 +0000

Gotta say, for anyone who has watched Andrew Zimmern on Food Network...an open and neutral mind will allow a whole world of culinary possibilities! Plus, not liking something just because you aren't supposed to isn't a valid excuse to bash it. Huitlacoche looks disgusting, but it's a common food in Central America. If a whole half-continent can find someway to make it work, I owe it to myself to give it a try!

By: Stitchness

Stitchness — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:12:06 +0000

I gotta agree with Kit on the Smelly Tofu comment. Smells up to high heaven a mile away...and is fermented also. I love them though. Every time I go home to Taiwan I get a bowl right out of the street vendors.

I've noticed that these "weird food" reviews always have one thing in common: They tend to eat just one sample preparation from one source and call it the definitive opinion.

Heck, if I got food poisoning the first time I tried a Subway sandwich I'd start to think it was horrible all the time too...

By: Triseult

Triseult — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:00:58 +0000

@CalvinTheArchitect: They're not using dyes... This is a duck egg, so it has a different color from a chicken egg even before fermentation. The "white" is jelly-like, possibly holds together less than normal jelly. The yolk is what freaks out some people: it's very creamy. When you're used to it, it's a pretty nice texture. Kit: Stinky Tofu is definitely less, ah, Westerner-friendly... I dunno, though, I got used to it, and ended up loving it. Maybe it's because I'm French Canadian and I'm used to smelly French cheese... Stinky Tofu is just that, fermented protein. Anyway, in Hangzhou, my spouse and I used to walk around playing 'Is it stinky tofu or an open-air toilet?' The smell is that bad. But the taste is fine... With some spicy sauce, I find it to be quite a treat.

By: Kit

Kit — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:24:18 +0000

I just got back from china. The thousand year old eggs are certainly a curiosity. They form little snowflake-like crystals on the backs of them. They're really pretty looking, like amber or something. The taste is... unusual, but not unpleasant. Trust me there are MUCH stranger foods in China. Smelly Tofu, for instance, can be smelt miles away. Not a pleasant food for foreigners.