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The Drifter Journals

Dish of the Day: Chinese pídàn 皮蛋 or Century Egg [Taiwan]

5/11/2014

13 Comments

 
Century egg with tofu
Century egg with tofu
A mixture of salty and sweet, soft and crunchy and slimy and crispy, this dish is a great example of a 'love it or hate it' flavor profile! In Chinese, it's called 皮蛋, or pídàn, meaning leather or skin egg. In English, it's commonly referred to as Century Egg or Thousand Year Egg.  
The secret to this iconic Chinese egg dish is in its process of preservation, a feat that may take up to several months at a time. The result is a perfectly fermented jewel of an egg, the color of dark coffee egg white and crystal-jade tinted yolk when sliced open.

Although the initial sulfur and ammonia smell may be off putting at first whiff, the flavor profile can be addictive! 

By far, my favorite way of eating it is the way it's pictured in the photo above, placed alongside a block of cold tofu with katsuobushi, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Ts is a very Taiwanese way of preparation.

Although the egg itself can also be eaten alone, there are many other ways of serving it as well, like mixed in omelets or stirred in congee. 

Following is a recipe I found on AllRecipes of a tasty congee version using this Chinese egg. I've been given this before by my Taiwanese friends whenever I had a cold or felt sick, and it always helped me feel better!

Pork and Century Egg Rice Congee Recipe

Recipe by Lea Eats 
"This traditional Chinese breakfast rice porridge is filling, cheap, warming, and oh so good. I like my rice well broken down and therefore use a short-grain rice and a longer cooking time. I hope you enjoy! Serve hot in small bowls, garnished with a drop of oyster sauce, chopped scallion greens, and small slices of yau ja gwai (fried chinese bread stick, or chinese crullers)."
Congee with Century Egg
Congee with Century Egg
  • 1 cup uncooked short-grain white rice
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cube pork bouillon cube
  • 2 cups char siu (Chinese roast pork), diced
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 preserved duck eggs (century eggs), peeled and diced
Directions
  1. Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water. Drain completely in a mesh strainer and place into a large pot. Stir the vegetable oil into the rice and set aside for 10 minutes.
  2. Stir 6 cups of water, the bouillon cube, char siu, and green onion into the rice. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Stir frequently as the rice cooks to help break the rice grains apart and keep it from burning on the bottom.
  3. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of water and the century egg. Continue cooking another 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently until the congee reaches your desired consistency. The congee is ready when the individual grains of rice are no longer discernable and have thickened the soup.
Image of congee by Yasmina Haryono, used under Creative Commons License. 
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And now we ask you - Have you ever tried Century egg? If not, would you ever?

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13 Comments
Lani link
5/11/2014 04:17:41 pm

I eat jok or rice porridge almost every day, but with a regular egg, thank you very much! :P I haven't even tried roasted egg on a stick yet. I'm a culinary wimp.

BTW, your blog looks smashing!

Reply
JR Riel link
5/11/2014 05:44:39 pm

Haha, just try it! It's really not as bad as it sounds. You might like it a lot. Or you may just get really sick and puke your brains out. Either way, it'll be an experience to remember! ;-) And thanks on the compliment, the blog is always a work in progress...

Reply
Lani link
5/13/2014 01:29:01 am

You changed your blog again! But I must say you are very good at upgrading b/c I see a lot of bloggers making changes that are not necessarily better, but I understand the need to tweak and try new things.

Then again, these things are up to taste, like that century egg you keep putting on my plate :P

Kalei
5/11/2014 10:43:25 pm

Hmmm... I'm not too big on fermented foods. I think it's mainly the dark color of the egg white, that's putting me off on this dish.

Reply
JR Riel link
5/12/2014 02:39:23 am

I find it to be a beautiful jade green, Kalei! Very appetizing...to each their own I guess. Just means there's more for me!

Reply
Paul
5/11/2014 11:24:53 pm

Texture, composition, and bounciness QQ in the mouth orifice are critical to Taiwanese cuisine including millennial cackle berries or bum nuts. At least that's some of what I hear from my Taiwanese friends.

Reply
JR Riel link
5/12/2014 02:40:46 am

Ahhh, Paul...you are really making me miss some great Taiwanese cuisine. All of the above is true! I can attest to that fact. There are some really great dishes that come to my mind when reading your description.

Reply
Molokai Mom
5/12/2014 10:42:23 am

The egg looks like what we call salted duck egg in Hawaii. And, the rice dish looks like chicken long rice from far. I like the fact that it has char siu in it. I'll try it.....As long as I can minus the egg.

Reply
JR Riel link
5/25/2014 12:10:24 pm

The egg is ONO, Mom! I know if you try it you will like it. Just try it. You know, I never did like chicken long rice before, least favorite food at da luaus. But lately I been ono for a big pot of that! I might try to make it. Any tips?

Reply
jayla1979 link
5/22/2014 05:58:36 pm

So here I am after the meeting catching up on your posts, starving...until I saw the egg. Haha Its the color of mold! Pretty amazing.

Reply
JR Riel link
5/25/2014 12:15:10 pm

I think the descriptive words 'emerald' and 'coffee' are more becoming. Haha. You should try it! But expect a really strong eggy flavor. Go figure.

Reply
Here link
7/23/2014 05:54:57 pm

Although the egg itself can also be eaten alone, there are many other ways of serving it as well, like mixed in omelets or stirred in congee.

Reply
A.Rrajai Photographer link
6/9/2020 11:45:23 pm

AWESOME!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING...

Reply



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