| Developing a Taste for Preserved Eggs |
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Part of Chinese cooking since ancient times, salted duck eggs and Thousand Year Eggs are now being adopted as a quirky new ingredient by food fashionistas. The Chinese art of preserving eggs by alkaline fermentation is one of the most unusual styles of food preservation documented. Eggs, used globally in both Western and Asian food, are of particular importance both nutritionally and historically, but are admired by culinary experts in East and West for different reasons. To discover that eggs, so eagerly employed in the West for their ability to foam, emulsify, and bind are praised in Asia for their symbolic similarity to the moon and as a symbol for luck and fertility makes the humble egg gain street credibility. The profound differences between the food cultures of East and West add a fascinating dimension to living and eating in this region. The dark-brown translucent "whites" and greenish-black globular yolks of Thousand Year Eggs (the poetic name suggests an age a lot older than the actual fermentation process of around 100 days) appear so strange to newcomers to Asia that the dish is often rejected without sampling. This seems mainly to do with the color, as some eggs - especially in poor light - look almost black. It does not normally have anything to do with whether the food will be safe to eat. Eggs that are merely old also have a well-earned reputation for smelling and tasting bad if they are even slightly off. Although alternative methods of preserving eggs, such as drying and freezing, can be found in other cuisines, these are relatively recent developments. Shelled boiled hens' eggs, pickled in vinegar and sold as a beer snack in the British Isles, are fading in popularity as the market is flooded with new snack products. Although the preparation of eggs worldwide has many themes and variations, it is the Chinese who have come up with the most special product of all. It must be assumed that years of poverty, near-starvation, and hard winters drove people to push boundaries with food preservation - and as eggs were plentiful in season and their nutritional contribution to the diet well understood, they were an ideal food to preserve. The Chinese have an unrivaled history of eating many different animals and parts, including chicken feet, ducks' tongues, and fish heads. Roots and even earth have been included in the diet in times of food shortage. Their ingenuity with eggs is perhaps a throwback to that era. Although many of the traditional Western preserved foods developed before refrigerators and freezers were invented have been modified to suit a modern diet (less sugar and salt, for example), it seems that little has changed in the preservation of eggs. Even though most homes here are now equipped with fridges and freezers, the Chinese are still avid consumers of preserved eggs - just as in many other cultures where traditionally food was preserved for basic human survival, especially in winter months, the flavors of those foods become so entrenched in the diet that they continue to be eaten despite the availability of fresh foods the year round. Their taste and texture add welcome diversity to the diet. There are two distinct types of preserved eggs found in stores in Taiwan - salted duck eggs, which can be purchased either raw or cooked, and Thousand Year or Century eggs. Other styles of serving whole eggs such as red-braising or simmering in tea are also common, but do not preserve the eggs in any way. Xian Dan - Salted eggs Preserving duck eggs in a brine solution was discovered to be a safe method for increasing their useable life and made them easier to transport. Duck eggs are naturally higher in pathogenic bacteria (the micro-organisms that cause food poisoning) and spoil quickly even when freshly laid. Hens' eggs have only exceeded duck eggs in popularity in modern times because of their lower fat content. To prepare Xian Dan, eggs are soaked in brine - usually for more than a month, though sometimes for a shorter time - and then encased in salted mud and straw. Soaking the eggs in brine makes the whites firmer and the yolk denser, as water is drawn out of the eggs by osmosis. Because of the natural bacteria in eggs, they must still be boiled for 10 minutes before being eaten or used raw in dishes that will then be cooked. Many recipes use the cooked crumbled yolk as a form of seasoning, as in pork dumplings, and the white will be discarded. Preserved duck eggs remain very popular in Taiwan and are used extensively for cake fillings for the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. While there are many different kinds of fillings, those containing duck egg yolks are favored (as their appearance resembles the full moon). These are often combined with a sweet red-bean paste that will counter the saltiness in the egg while also adding a smooth creaminess to the crumbly yolk. In recent years moon-cake vendors have competed to come up with new and innovative fillings in an effort to increase business, but still a cake without the duck egg yolk is considered by many to be a scandal, even if the popularity of these eggs may be declining among younger, more cosmopolitan Taiwanese. Nonetheless they are still very much a part of the diet here, and wherever fresh eggs are sold, whether in traditional wet markets or more contemporary supermarkets, preserved eggs will be found as well - either sold raw or cooked by the vendors. Even new gourmet food stores like Jason's Market stock preserved eggs, such is the demand for them in the local diet. When trying salted eggs for the first time, a newcomer will find them to have an unusual flavor that marries well with other ingredients. The whites, which take on a slightly rubbery texture during the preserving process, are considered to be rather tasteless. As a result, although they are perfectly safe to eat, the whites are often discarded in preference to the yolk. Once the eggs have been salted, they will keep for several months. Pi Dan - Thousand Year Eggs Thousand Year Eggs belong to a unusual group of alkaline-fermented foods that are mostly found in Southeast Asian and African countries. Almost black in color and with a gooey greenish yolk, these eggs are often avoided by Westerners, who tend to dislike the color, smell, and texture developed during fermentation. The color, translucency, and texture of the yolk, which seem especially unappetizing when the egg is raw, are improved when they are boiled. They do, in fact, have an attractive mildly creamy flavor, hence their popularity. Taiwanese enjoy pi dan either as an appetizer or as a side dish accompanying a meal. They are often served together with a square of soft tofu topped with soy sauce. To see how these eggs are used by top chefs here, I asked Johnny Liaou, Chef de Cuisine at the Grand Hyatt's Shanghai Court Restaurant, to show me some examples. He prepared two dishes that are on the restaurant's current menu. The first we sampled was a stunning green crab that had been caught in the waters surrounding the Penghu Islands. These crabs are not prolific and therefore not found in the local markets in Taipei. The dish is described on the menu as"wok fried green crab with salty duck egg yolk, chili and fragrant salt," and we asked the chef to run through the preparation method. First the crab was coated in cornstarch and deep fried for barely a minute in soy bean oil, in which time it turns a glorious deep red. The crab is then removed from the oil, drained, and cut into four sections. In another wok the chef adds very finely chopped ginger, garlic, and spring onion, and stir fries until the ingredients are soft. The crab goes back in the pan with a beaten raw salted egg yolk, which coats all the surfaces now exposed. It is then served to customers immediately, with a garnish of deep-fried onion slivers, coriander, spring onion, and chili. This crab is so fresh and sweet that it complements the saltiness of the duck egg yolk. Together they create a heavenly feeling of creaminess in the mouth. As the meat is sucked from claws and shoulder joints, the taste is sensational (with food like this, I understand why on a Tuesday at 2 in the afternoon the restaurant was still packed). The chef admits that this is not a strictly traditional dish, but rather a contemporary version of a Shanghai dish using the best ingredients Taiwan has to offer. The second dish we were offered was a simpler affair made with fava beans; it is one of the most popular vegetables dishes on the current menu. Fava beans have a very short season, so the Hyatt imports as much as it can store when they are available from China, and then freezes them for later use in the restaurant. Such is the attention to detail that the chef would not even consider substituting a different bean in this dish. The beans are sautéed with spring onion, finely chopped mustard greens, and raw salted duck-egg yolk. The egg yolk again forms the seasoning element, but when the dish is ready a couple of tablespoons of diced cooked egg yolk are added. The combination of complementary flavors here is superb ?V this dish definitely has the "wow factor." An unusual method Although the third dish we were presented with did not contain preserved eggs, the chef wanted us to try it anyway. Disappointment over the absence of a salted duck or Century egg soon disappeared. When the "wok fried cod fillet with onions, Yunnan ham and egg white sauce"was placed on the table, I could see that this was something different. A most unusual presentation method of including beaten egg whites had been used. This dish, a perfect example of the types of fusion dishes that innovative Taiwanese chefs are currently developing, is traditionally made with a local fish called yellow croaker that has very soft flesh and little flavor - hence its popularity in sweet-and-sour dishes. Yellow croaker is inexpensive and hard to sell in a restaurant of this high standard. So the chef uses the finest imported cod, which has a firmer, fuller-flavored flesh. First the cod is placed in a classic Chinese marinade of ginger, spring onion, and garlic. Drained and coated in corn starch, the fish is stir fried with some sliced white onion and then removed from the wok. Immediately half a cup of delicate chicken stock is added to the pan, and then the cod mixture is returned to the fire along with some stiffly beaten egg whites. After quick stir frying over a high heat, it is garnished with crumbled Yunnan ham and gingko nuts. The dish is so light that the tender fish flesh literally melts in the mouth. Whether or not you are fortunate enough to have already discovered the delights of Chinese preserved eggs, I thoroughly recommend sampling the dishes reviewed at the Shanghai Court Restaurant on the fourth floor at the Grand Hyatt Taipei. They are some of the finest examples of modern Chinese cooking to be found. For me, experimentation with these eggs will continue. Already "tuna nicoise with seared sashimi tuna, Thousand Year Eggs, and sesame dressing" is firmly implanted in my repertoire, and in future I shall also be using salted duck-egg yolks to season and thicken sauces. Four years ago, I couldn't have written this article. But having immersed myself in the delights of Taiwanese and mainland Chinese ingredients and cuisine, I find that most of my initial inhibitions have faded. Living here has opened many doors and challenged many sensory boundaries. The fusion movement may still be in its infancy here, but with an increasing number of classical chefs like Liao setting the standards, the possibilities are endless. That fusion here goes beyond the simple mixing of classic European styles with the flavors of Asia; it also combines essential elements of mainland Chinese and Taiwanese cooking, with a dose of Japanese. The result- Like nothing you have ever tried before. Shirlee Posner is a freelance food writer and member of the UK Guild of Food Writers. She has been living and eating in Taipei and other parts of Asia for the past four years. If you would like to contact the author you may do so via her website: www.shirleeposner.com. Ingredients 2 cups very strong black tea 1/3 cup salt 2 cups pinewood ashes 2 cups charcoal ashes from the fireplace 1 cup lime 12 fresh duck eggs * Pine cones/pinewood and lime are available in garden stores. Method Combine all the ingredients together except for the eggs. Thickly coat each egg completely with this clay-like mixture. Line a large crock (ceramic pot) with garden soil and carefully lay the coated eggs on top. Cover with more soil and place the crock in a cool dark place. Allow to cure for 100 days. To remove coating, scrape eggs and rinse under running water to clean thoroughly. Crack lightly and remove shells. The white of the egg will appear a grayish, translucent color and have a gelatinous texture. The yolk, when sliced, will be a grayish-green color. To serve, cut into wedges and serve with tofu and soy sauce. Adapted from the "The Regional Cooking of China" by Margaret Gin and Alfred E. Castle, 101 Productions, San Francisco, 1975. |