Century egg

A duck egg cured in an alkaline coating until the white sets into dark amber jelly and the yolk turns creamy grey-green. Shelled, cut into chunks and added late, it partly melts to thicken the soup and lend its distinctive mellow, faintly sulphurous savour. Essential to coriander fish soup and amaranth soup.

TCM properties

Nature · cooling　Flavour · sweet、salty　Meridians · lung、stomach

Traditional food therapy

In Cantonese folk food therapy it is taken as cooling — used to clear heat and damp down excess internal fire after late nights — while also thickening and seasoning the pot.

Cautions — read first

• [SAFETY CRITICAL] The traditional process once used lead oxide to speed the curing, which left lead in the eggs. Only modern, properly made 'lead-free' century eggs, regulated to heavy-metal residue standards, can be relied on. Buy packaged eggs from a proper brand and never loose eggs of unknown origin
• Children and pregnant women should keep the portion moderate (a legacy concern about heavy-metal residue)
• Keep the portion moderate if you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure

Preparation

Shell them and cut into big chunks, adding them at the end; letting a little melt into the soup thickens the body.

Origin

湖南益陽等松花皮蛋傳統產區 — AU stock is packaged imported Chinese brands (Umall ~$0.80/egg); buy boxed lead-free lines, never loose

Availability in Australia

Common at Asian grocers · A$0.8–0.8 / each
August 15th Songhua century eggs 6pc/360g $4.79 ($0.80/egg); Mingfa plum-flavoured 480g $9.99 (promo, was $12.29)

Pairs well with