preserved egg
Alkaline-cured delicacy
A preserved egg is a Chinese delicacy made by curing duck, chicken, or quail eggs in an alkaline mixture for weeks or months.
The process transforms the egg dramatically—the white becomes dark and gelatinous, the yolk turns creamy and greenish-gray.
Also called century egg, hundred-year egg, or thousand-year egg, though the preservation takes weeks, not years.
The flavor is rich, savory, and intensely eggy, with ammonia notes that can startle newcomers: I tried preserved egg for the first time at dim sum.
- alkalineHaving high pH
- yolkEgg's nutrient core
- amberHardened ancient tree secretion
- gelatinousViscous and semisolid
- fermentedTransformed by microbial action
duck · translucent · ammonia · Chinese · Chinese cuisine · congee · rice porridge · tofu · pickled · cured · black · sulfur · delicacy · jade · creamy · pungent · acquired taste · brined
preserved eggfried egg
Cooked in oil
boiled egg · scrambled egg · poached egg · omelette · steamed egg
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