Black eggs in China are also called “hundred-year-old”. In Chinese皮蛋 — phi dan. They were called that because of their appearance and because they can be stored for quite a long time. These eggs are also called “imperial”. In a word, it is a delicacy and one of the favorite snacks among the Chinese.
History of the dish
It is said that somewhere in Hunan province, six hundred years ago (during the Ming Empire), a Chinese man found eggs in the slaked lime that was used a few months ago to build his house. He dared to try them and, as you can imagine, he liked it... He decided to cook it for himself in the same way, but at the same time added salt for taste - and this is how this fabulous dish was born. Then, due to the scale of Chinese culture, black eggs were popularized in other Asian countries.
There are traditional and modern methods of preparing the delicacy
Traditional
For this appetizer, duck or chicken eggs are used, much less often quail eggs. It is still prepared in the traditional way, but the modern one is used to avoid fussing for a long time. If you are an old-school person or just want your egg to be preserved longer, then first make some kind of paste. Take hot water, pour tea into it, add clay and burnt oak ash, sea salt, calcium oxide, mix, wait until it thickens, sculpt it all onto an egg, and then roll it in rice husks and straw - this is done so that the eggs did not stick to each other. All manipulations should be done manually while wearing gloves, as you can get a chemical burn. Then you put all this stuff in baskets and bury it in the ground. This entire process may take about a month or two. Have you already run to look for ingredients?) If not, let’s turn to the second method.
Modern
This method consists of soaking raw eggs in various chemicals (in a solution of table salt, calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, for example), leaving them for ten days, then covering them with clay and wrapping them in film, keeping them there for several more weeks. It doesn’t matter whether you buried your egg, put it in a jar, or simply wrapped it in film - the main thing is that no air gets in. You leave the eggs alone for a while and let them bathe in this alkaline environment as much as they can. Through the pores in the shell, everything will reach the address and they will take on the proper consistency.
The Chinese have come up with a thousand and one ways to interpret and prepare a “hundred-year-old” egg, the ingredients vary, but, I repeat, the essence remains the same - let it remain in an alkaline environment and in no case allow air to penetrate.
Why do the Chinese still not want to eat fried or boiled eggs?
Because for the Chinese, eggs are, first of all, not something that is tasty, but something that is healthy. Wang Shi Siong wrote in his book that canned eggs have a variety of flavors, help with hangovers, diarrhea, and can even give strength. In Chinese medicine, black eggs are actively used for eye pain, tinnitus, toothache, and they also lower high blood pressure and relieve dizziness. It is believed that they are best stored in a cool, dry place.
It should be borne in mind that the amount of lead oxide in some of the eggs can simply go off scale and this will shock ordinary people.The oxide significantly speeds up the cooking process, which is why unscrupulous manufacturers often indulge in it.
Smart Chinese have also adapted to this - a method for preparing lead-free snacks has been developed so that people who actively consume canned eggs do not ruin their health. Instead of lead, zinc is used, although it is also not particularly useful. Eggs have an ammonia smell due to decomposed amino acids and other chemical reactions, so when you eat eggs, it is recommended to add a little vinegar to reduce the amount of alkaline substances and give the egg a more pleasant smell and taste.
Plus, these eggs are really cool and have their own special twist. Centennial eggs are also called松花蛋 son hua dan.
What does this mean and why was it called that?
And not just like that! 松花 song hua - pine flowers, and蛋 dan – egg. The result is eggs that have a pattern in the form of pine needles. Due to the fact that the egg is left for a long time, some proteins break down into amino acids, and amino acids, in turn, can interact with both alkaline and acidic substances. Thus, people deliberately add some alkaline substances such as lime, potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate. They pass through the pores in the eggshell, combine with amino acids and form amino acid salts. They are insoluble in proteins and crystallize into a certain geometric shape - beautiful pine patterns. The clearer the pattern, the better the quality of the egg. In general, don’t bother!))
What does this black egg taste like?
This delicacy of Chinese cuisine did not pass me by either - I tried it. And I can’t say anything bad about him. The taste is really specific, I ate it with my eyes closed, because I am an average foreigner, I am attracted by beautiful pictures of “sushi and pizza”, and therefore I expected the worst from this curiosity. But it didn't taste as bad as it looked. The white resembles a hard jellied meat with a taste of chemicals or some strange medicine, and the yolk is like a yolk, but its structure can be a little liquid and have a certain creamy taste, no matter how strange it may sound. But personally, I repeat, this dish reminded me of salty jellied meat with a chemical taste and something slightly runny inside. In a word - you can eat.
Maybe these eggs are not for everyone, but I definitely can’t call them “disgusting”. I can only be surprised at how the Chinese thought of preparing it so intricately. In Ukraine, we simply paint eggs and that’s it, we call them pysanka – we don’t bury them in the ground. But the Chinese black egg is also original and unusual, for example, the same patterns on the white. Where else will you see this?
To summarize, I want to say that each person has his own taste preferences and receptors, so this egg may remind you of something different and you will not agree with me. Some people find it sharp, for example. Share your opinion with us and never be afraid to try something new. After all, black eggs are the same eggs, only in profile.
Centenary eggs are an extravagant food from China, specific, unlike anything else, with a bizarre spicy taste. To the average European, this food is not a delicacy at all, like, say, fried tarantula from Cambodia, ant larvae swimming in broth from Mexico, the beating heart of a snake just killed (Vietnam), raw Korean octopus (the tentacles wriggle straight in a plate). On the globe there are many incomprehensible (sometimes terrible, sometimes beautiful) dishes to look at and taste. How can you cook an egg? Boil, fry, eat raw, shake for an omelet - that’s how it’s traditional. How do the Celestial Empire approach this issue?
Chinese century eggs: what are they?
This is a long-lasting canned product. The preparation process is as follows: a fresh egg (traditionally duck, but can also be chicken, goose, quail, turkey) must be kept for a sufficiently long time (of course, not a hundred and certainly not a thousand years) in a specially created highly alkaline environment without access to air. This process can be carried out in many ways, but the result is always the same - dark, almost black eggs with a gel-like (often transparent) protein structure and a greenish (sometimes gray) yolk in a creamy state.
As a result of a complex of biochemical reactions, Chinese canned delicacies are obtained - century-old eggs, the taste of which changes radically during the process of preparation (preservation), additionally filling with a specific, as Europeans say, rotten smell. The yolk begins to smell like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, and the black white becomes almost transparent and tastes salty.
Traditional names for century eggs from China
In the country, this delicacy is called 皮蛋 in Pinyin (the sound in English is pidan, i.e. pidan), canned eggs, century eggs, thousand-year eggs, millennium egg.
During the process of canning (this is done using special techniques), small crystalline patterns appear on the black protein, generally reminiscent of a pine branch, which gave rise to another name - songhuadan (songhua - translated from traditional Chinese as "pine flowers", dan - translated as " egg"), a pine-patterned egg. These same eggs are called imperial, or Ming Dynasty eggs.
History of appearance
Despite the unusual appearance (like an archaeological find from ancient times) of such a delicacy as black eggs, their appearance does not date back to ancient times (like almost everything in China). The method of preparation (preservation for long-term storage), which has survived to this day, was first recorded about six centuries ago, in the Chinese era.
This happened in Hunan Province. One homeowner discovered several duck eggs in a dried-up puddle. They lay there for about two months, from the start of construction, when the lime was still liquid. He tried them and came to the conclusion that the product turned out to be unusual, most importantly, edible, but the cooking process requires the addition of salt to improve the taste. Residents of the country believe that canned hundred-year-old eggs appeared this way.
Cooking methods
The most traditional and most ancient in China is considered to be the following: lime is poured into a hot infusion of strong black tea, then table salt and fresh wood ash. Everything is thoroughly mixed to a paste-like state. The mixture is left to cool overnight. This paste is carefully coated with eggs in several layers, rolled in rice chaff (husk) so that the layer is dense and thick, and left for five months.
Naturally, the process of preparing such a “Chinese-style” delicacy as hundred-year-old eggs was constantly updated over the next six centuries.
What is Pidan and Songhuadan today?
The Celestial Empire has accumulated extensive experience in preparing this product under production conditions, with all the documents confirming the nutritional authenticity of pidan and sunhuadan eggs. Although in the markets of any city traditionally, right under the rays of the burning sun, hundred-year-old eggs, covered with rice chaff, handmade according to the traditional method, are sold in large special baskets.
In Chinese stores, this product is sold in polystyrene foam containers; the eggs have already been peeled from the outer layer; all that remains is to wash them and remove the shells.
In the recent past, the country at the legislative level limited the lead content in these products. Where does the lead come from? It turns out that in modern conditions eggs do not need to “stand” for so long if they come into contact with lead oxide at the right time during cooking.
Experienced tourists already know that they need to buy pidan and sunhuadan only if there is a special symbol (without lead). Although experts say that the amount of lead contained in one egg will not harm health - after all, no one eats dozens of this delicacy and does not (fortunately) feed the younger generation such exotic food in large quantities.
How to eat and what to serve with these unusual products?
Having washed it under clean water and peeled off the fairly hard shell, after making sure that it is all intact (without cracks or chips), you do not need to hold the egg in your hands for a long time (if possible), give it a little (although some experts advise up to fifteen minutes) let it sit so that the smell of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide is less strong, then cut into quarters.
Songhuadan eggs will have a beautiful design and are usually given as surprises and gifts. In this case, it is useful to know that the more beautiful and more patterns on the egg, the traditionally higher its quality.
Chinese restaurants (as well as restaurants in most Asian countries) never serve century eggs in their pure form. The recipe for home cooking can be simple - pour hot soy sauce with grated ginger over the cut product or mix it with rice porridge. In these cases, both the pungency of taste and the aftertaste will not be so strong (and unpleasant if you try them for the first time).
Recipe for home cooking in Shanghai style
Ingredients:
- Pidan eggs - 2 pcs.
- Sugar - 0.5 tbsp. spoons.
- Soy sauce (gentle) - 2 tbsp. spoons.
Cooking process:
- Wash the eggs, remove the shells. Carefully transfer the pidan to a flat plate, cut into eight pieces (the thinner, the easier it is for Europeans to eat), and arrange beautifully. You need to cut with a very thin knife, since the consistency of the yolk is buttery creamy and sticks to the knife.
- Pour soy sauce over the eggs and sprinkle with sugar.
The dish is served cold, but can also be heated, with rice.
Recipe for home cooking in Nordic (almost European) style
Ingredients:
- Pidan eggs - 3 or 4 pieces.
- Bean curd (cheese) tofu - 0.5 kg (traditional packing in a block).
- Sesame oil - 1 teaspoon.
- Soy sauce - 1 tbsp. spoon.
- Monosodium glutamate - optional and to taste.
Cooking process:
- Wash the eggs thoroughly and remove the shells. Carefully transfer them to a flat plate, cut into eight pieces (as already mentioned, the thinner, the easier this dish is to eat).
- Drain the brine from the tofu, transferring it to a strainer. Cut into neat, centimeter-sized cubes, rinse in cold water, and wait for the brine to drain.
- Carefully place the cut eggs into a shallow bowl, combine (mix very gently) with the tofu cubes, pour over soy sauce and sesame oil.
This post is about food, but I wouldn’t call it appetizing :)
I want to talk about “hundred-year eggs” (or, as they are also called, “thousand-year eggs”). I've heard a lot about one of the strangest delicacies. Or “delicacies”, because, according to CNN, such eggs top the list of the most disgusting dishes. But hearing this is one thing... but before I couldn’t even think that I would try!
To begin with, I will share my impressions, and at the end I will add material from Wikipedia about “Century Eggs”.
The shell seemed a little rough to me and the coloring was less uniform than a regular raw egg. I started to break it - it was more difficult to break, and it felt like you were hitting a rubber ball on the table; the egg was a little springy. But it wasn’t difficult to remove the shell; it comes off easily. The protein itself was slightly moist, a beautiful tea color. In general, I would compare the appearance of the protein with black tea jelly! She sniffed it - there was no smell, took a knife and cut it. The smell of ammonia hit my nose... it’s only the yolk that smells, right?
I looked at it for about 10 minutes. Beautiful! But the smell and the awareness of the fact that the egg was “not the first freshness” prevented me from trying the “delicacy”.
Exhaling, she pinched her nose with one hand, threw a slice into her mouth with the other... and nothing! I chew and NOTHING! Like tasteless jelly….the first couple of seconds! And then a sharp, bright taste of mold (?) hit my nose, I don’t know what to compare it with. And the taste began to be felt in the mouth...meh! No, I couldn't swallow it. So I have to share CNN’s opinion.
But it’s so beautiful, isn’t it? :)
And a little from Wikipedia:
"Hundred Year Egg" (pídàn)- a popular Chinese snack; is an egg kept for several months in a special mixture without access to air. There are a number of options for preparing them, but they all boil down to immersing the eggs in a highly alkaline environment and completely sealing them off from air.
As a result of chemical processes, the white and yolk of eggs become highly alkaline - their pH rises to 9 and even 12 (this is approximately the same as for soap). The process of preparing eggs takes approximately 15-20 days depending on the time of year, but eggs are often aged for 3-4 months.
On the surface of a shelled finished egg, you can often notice patterns reminiscent of frost on a window, which are formed by microscopic crystals of substances released from the egg. Eggs have good storage stability - if left covered in coating, they can be stored for up to several years.
Centenary eggs are a common snack in China and countries with historically strong Chinese cultural influence. Typically, “hundred-year eggs” are eaten without further cooking. Most often they are served as an independent snack, cut into slices. They can be seasoned with soy or oyster sauce. Sometimes “centenary eggs” are used as a component of salads and other complex dishes. Thus, finely chopped eggs are often added to rice porridge.
This is how it happens - you screw up for 8 hours at work, come home, and the most disgusting dinner in the world is waiting for you. As part of Vikin’s cultural enrichment, a Chinese friend told us to forget everything we know about Chinese restaurants, which in North America are still completely out of step with sanitary standards and the expectations of average customers. So, Roxy volunteered to cook real Chinese food.
Disgusting. But don't think I'm being so negative about all Chinese cuisine or Roxy's abilities. No, it’s just that this dish called “The Hundred Year Egg” usually tops all the ratings of the most disgusting dishes in the world.
Pidan (皮蛋) - hundred-year-old egg
As a result of the chemical reaction, the alkalinity of the yolk increases greatly, and its pH rises to 9-12, like soap. As a result of the reaction, the protein acquires a jelly-like consistency and a deep amber color, and on its surface microscopic crystals form a pattern similar to frost on a window. It is believed that the larger and clearer the pattern, the better the quality of the egg, so ours is so good.
The yolk becomes dark gray and creamy with shades from green to black - the inside is more liquid than the outside.
Feels like a good soft French cheese, hard on the outside and almost liquid on the inside. By the way, French cheese itself successfully tops the Chinese lists of the most disgusting dishes.
The taste... how can I describe it, something like an overcooked, mushy egg, if such a thing could exist, or perhaps like a fermented oyster. Once I mixed all the medicines in the house one tablet at a time and let it brew on the radiator, there was a similar smell.
A little pungent, with the smell of ammonia and there is clearly something similar to sinusitis. In short, we definitely lack the gene that allows us to appreciate this snack at its true worth.
Lots of spicy Chinese cabbage and a bottle of beer will help keep all the ammonia flavor inside. The main thing is not to think that you are eating a rotten egg.
In the next episode, Vika treats Roxy to borscht and cheesecakes.
The most disgusting dinner Pidan (皮蛋) - hundred-year-old egg was last modified: September 21st, 2016 by Anton Belousov
