I was buying a few bits from the Chinese supermarket off Bramall Lane today when I noticed some eggs on a shelf. On the box it said "salted duck eggs" and on another "preserved duck eggs".

And then, at the section where they have fruit, etc, there was a large bowl with some black liquid in and some MORE eggs. I wondered with bonfire night approaching, if this was some Chinese take on 'bobbing the apple'.

Now I'll eat ANYTHING, but even I thought I'd check on here first, see if there's some other mug, I mean culinary explorer, whose tried these before.

I remember the fertilised duck eggs (http://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/balut-tm.jpg) with a near fully grown embryo inside that they ate in Vietnam - ugh!

O no. No. NO.

I mean, you can't swallow that whole, so you'd have to CRUNCH.

Great link.

Worse thing I ever saw to eat, that really turned my stomach, was a lobster dish from Japan. The chef skillfully cuts the lobster shell without killing it, then serves. As you eat the lobster tail, the crustacean slowly dies. (Though I suppose that bit's obvious).

I remember watching Jeremy Clarkson visting a house in France (IIRC) on one of his tv programmes, where they serve a speciality dish (illegal to sell) called Bird in a blanket, They rear Tiny Birds (can't remember the breed) in total darkness, fed on corn, then drowned in Cognac, roasted and eaten whole.

The person eating has a white cloth over his head whilst eating.

I remember watching Jeremy Clarkson visting a house in France (IIRC) on one of his tv programmes, where they serve a speciality dish (illegal to sell) called Bird in a blanket, They rear Tiny Birds (can't remember the breed) in total darkness, fed on corn, then drowned in Cognac, roasted and eaten whole.

The person eating has a white cloth over his head whilst eating.


I saw that:gag:

I read about salted duck eggs and century eggs a while back but have not eaten either (Not in a rush to tbh).

Century eggs are the dark coloured ones and that might be what you saw in the black liquid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salted_duck_egg

While I was looking for the wikipedia urls above to post here I came across Tea eggs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_egg but have not heard of those before.

I'll stick to poached, fried or scrambled I think, unless the opportunity conveniently presents itself.

I've not ever had tea eggs before.

Century eggs, (or preserved duck eggs), I sometimes get and make it with rice congee/porridge. (Congee is just boiled rice until it turns mushy.)

Like this:
http://www.aromacookery.com/aromacookery/2005/04/teochew_porridg.html

Whatever preservative it was cooked in, it will diffuse into the rice porridge itself, and that is how you cook it. I haven't tried the other methods of eating this as mentioned in the wikipedia link. Congee is typical eaten when you're sick or ill, and just want something simple, for the (carbohydrate) energy.

I had congee last week at Wong Tings. Didn't have a clue what it was when I ordered. Would I order it again? . . . eeerrrrrr, no.