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 criticalThe 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
Yiyang in Hunan and the other traditional producing areas for songhua century eggs. Australian stock is packaged imported Chinese brands; buy boxed lead-free lines, never loose
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
