What Is Thousand Year Old Egg?
Dec 3rd, 2008 by admin
I’ve wanted for ages to write about Chinese thousand year old egg, also known as century egg or preserved egg (pei dan in Cantonese, pi dan in Mandarin, literally ‘skin/leather egg’), but until my recent trip to China, I had no photos. Despite the rather off-putting name, they’re not really a thousand years old. Duck eggs, more commonly used than chicken eggs, are preserved for about a hundred days using a combination of ashes, lime, tea and salt. After this process, the egg white turns gelatinous and amber in colour, while the yolk becomes grey/green and can still be a little gooey in the very centre.
Thousand year old egg can be eaten in different ways, without having to be cooked further. The photo below, taken at Yung Kee in Hong Kong, shows it as a classic cold starter, cut in halves (it is sometimes cut lengthways in segments), served with slices of pickled ginger (gari or ginger served with sushi). The second photo was taken at Noodle Bar in Beijing, and is another cold dish, served as a starter or side dish. The thousand year old egg is cut into small cubes and served with chilled silken tofu, a sprinkle of chopped spring onions and a drizzle of soy sauce.
When I compare these two dishes, I much prefer the second one. Eating just half a thousand year old egg can wreak havoc on your digestive system as it’s rich, pungent and sulphuric – quite unique. It’s an acquired taste and best consumed in smaller quantities, like the second dish, where the bland tofu complements the stronger egg flavour. It’s also much lighter and easier to digest.
My favourite way to eat thousand year old egg still has to be in congee, chopped in cubes (not too small, otherwise it will just dissolve into nothingness) with lean or salted pork. As with the tofu, the blandness of the congee and the egg make a delicious combination. I made congee with pork and thousand year old egg at home recently.
I hope this had made you want to try thousand year old egg! You can buy it in Chinese supermarkets (not to be confused with salted duck eggs), but perhaps order it in a restaurant before buying some to have at home. Let me know what you think. And for those of you who already love thousand year old egg, what’s your favourite dish?
If you’ve enjoyed reading this, you might like the others posts from The Larder series:
Helen,
I had one at Hunan, and hated it. Maybe it is an acquired taste…
I once met my parents for Sunday yum chaa and my mother could see on my face how hungover I was. She took great delight in ordering and making me eat some century egg. It was a tough moment.
I love this….
esp making congee with century egg and pork mince!
I cannot forget this thai dish that i have had in West Kowloon, deep fried century egg covered with prawn mash….. ahh….
and recent love its century egg with tofu, the taiwanese cold dish… yum!!!!
I’ve had these at Yung Kee too! I loved them but bf was almost sick…
Hi Helen,
I luv those from Yung Kee…. too!!!
Loving Annie – definitely an acquired taste. I hate natto – have you tried that?! Uggghhh
Lizzie – don’t you like it either?! It’s so nice, with certain things…
Suzie – at last, a thousand year old egg fan! I loved it with cold tofu. In fact, I’m going to buy an egg next week when I’m in Chinatown and recreate it. I have the tofu already…
alexthepink – it is an acquired taste! Poor bf…
Tiramisuu – I think they even sell their eggs in a box, like a Yung Kee gift!
Helen Yuet Ling
fabulous post, helen. this is the first time i’ve actually seen a picture of the thousand year egg. you know we’re eating adventurers but this would def. make me pause for a few minutes before i tried it. i can totally see this as (you said) being an acquired taste. dirty martini’s and anchovies were an acquired taste to me and now i can’t live w/o either of them!
Never tried natto…
We Are Never Full – thank you! I think you might be surprised by the taste. Do try it one day if you get the chance. Just get one from a Chinese supermarket and have it chopped with chilled silken tofu, some light soy sauce and chopped spring onions. It’s an easier introduction to it! I’ll post about it once I’ve tried it myself…
Loving Annie – natto beats thousand year old egg any day. Freaky stringy texture, unpleasant smell, and yet, it’s sooo popular! You’ll find it in a Japanese supermarket in the refrigerated section, or of course in restaurants. Please let me know what you think…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen Yuet Ling,
I love preserved egg. My favourite is preserved egg in juk with minced pork or thin pork slices and thin slices of fresh ginger served with a side of fresh plain chow mein and fresh fried dough sticks. That’s what I call a real Chinese breakfast, especially in the dai pai dongs in Kowloon. Yum! I make the juk at home as it’s comforting now that I am far away from family.
Another of my favourites is pei dan sau, the sweet pastry with the flakey pastry on the outside, sweet red bean or lotus seed paste inside with bits of preserved egg and tangy preserved ginger slices. So yum and I’m always looking out for some whenever I’m near a Chinatown in the UK or in the United States. In fact, they are so good, I can wolf two down in a row and go back to buy some more. Must stop talking about food now as it’s lunch time and I’m getting hungry. Oh what to eat….
Take care,
Susan Shifay Cheung
Susan – thanks for this. I’ve not had the pei dan sau before, so I’ll look out for it next time I’m in Chinatown. Sounds interesting!
Helen Yuet Ling
hey Helen!
I love these things – my mum used to put them in her porridge with dried scallops… ahh the good ol’ days
They also go by centure eggs too right?
Informative post! Thanks
It’ll take me a lot of courage to eat it – but I would love to give it a shot! 
kang – hello! Delicious, both preserved egg AND dried scallops. My mother has just gone from HK back home to Costa Rica with her luggage full of dried scallops. Yes, they’re also called century eggs. 3 month old eggs would be a more accurate description…
The Purplefoodie – thanks for dropping by! Now you know. Try it one day, and let me know what you think…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi, the first time I was given a 100 year old egg, my first reaction was “uuuurgh”. The look alone, knowing that it were once an egg as we know them, makes you want to heave!! Summoning up the courage to eat one is even more wrenching. However, when ignoring the look of the egg, the taste is very nice!! Good enough to make me want to try to make my own. I have seen how good they look when sliced and placed like a “Chocolate Terry’s Orange” with a dollop of something in the centre that gives them that “flower look”. Yes, lovely, the Chinese certainly know how to make food. mmmmmm!!
John – someone who loves thousand year old egg! I’m glad you were brave enough to try it. I think because I’ve eaten them from childhood, when I wasn’t smart enough to ask what it was that I was eating, I’ve never had a problem with their age. Less is better though!
Helen Yuet Ling
Like you, I had the Thousand Year Egg at Yung Kee and loved it’s strange (new) taste. Another dish which is albeit a bit more traditional, I loved at Yung Kee was the Roast Goose. It was 18 months ago and I still wish HK was a lot closer to london, or that they had a Yung Kee here…
Becky
Becky – glad you love thousand year old eggs. I should start a fan club!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hello Helen….
Firstly, WOW! I love your blog!!! It’s my first foray into this world of blogging (yes I’m a late bloomer) so it’s all very exciting to me, esp. when I find such a passionate site such as yours with really useful, frank and inspiring views.
A couple of questions:
You have very helpfully cleared up what thousand year old egg is, thank you, but I’ve also always wondered what ‘birds nest’ is! Maybe when you get a chance you could give that a little explanation too!?
Also, have you ever been to Gourmet San on Bethanal Green Road, and if so, how did you rate that?
Well, I’m going to take one of your recommendations for restaurants (Pearl Liang) which is where i’ve been meaning to go for a while. So 10 of us girlfriends are heading there for a serious feast with a heaving lazy susan!!! Any suggestions on what to order for such a gathering?
Sorry, enough questions! Many thanks for such an enjoyable blogging experience, I shall be visiting often and exploring more!
Lou
Oooh, before i go, went to a divine place for lunch today: The Modern Pantry in Farringdon (www.themodernpantry.co.uk) truly divine, intriguing ingredients forming contemporay dishes to excite the mouth and the mind!! Would THOROUGHLY recommend a visit if you haven’t already!
Lou – thank you for the compliments! It’s always great to hear from readers. That’s so funny, I was thinking about writing about birds nest the other day, because I’ve been neglecting The Larder section. So thank you, I will put it on my list of things to do!
No, I haven’t been to Gourmet San yet. But I’ve heard nice things about it. Have you read my posts on Pearl Liang? You might find the dinner post useful. I’m going back in early April to investigate some new dishes and try in particular lobster with noodles. You might like that!
And thanks for the Modern Pantry rec, I shall investigate!
Helen Yuet Ling
I finally had century egg a few weeks ago after pestering a fellow food blogger in NYC about sharing her pei dan and pork congee recipe. It’s appearance in contrast to a ‘regular’ egg is rather like Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde but I found the pungent flavor very appealing. Quite frankly, I love the different preparations of duck eggs in Asian cuisine, from salted to balut. Such a universe of flavors from a humble egg!
Tangled Noodle – I’ll be making congee with pork and thousand year old egg this weekend! It took me ages to buy the eggs, but I love this dish so much. The post will be up next week if all goes well!
Helen Yuet Ling
I always ate this in congee, with pork slices. It was my absolute favorite thing to eat as a child. If the egg ever melted completely, I wouldn’t even eat the congee haha.
My Taiwanese friend taught me how to make the tofu dish. It’s actually done with sesame oil also. The oil make everything taste very wonderfully “hern” (fragrant). You can also sprinkle cilantro on it but cut off the stems and use the leaves only. I prefer tofu that isn’t straight from the fridge (too cold) so perhaps if other people feel that way, I suggest microwaving or steaming it.
I never thought the egg was an acquired taste because I grew up eating it. Haven’t introduced it to non-Asians either so didn’t give it a thought until now but try it, you will enjoy it!
Thanks for reminding me to link my two 1000 year old recipes to my post, I’ve just done it.
I’ll tell you, its definitely an acquired taste. As a child, my Hawaiian Chinese grandma ate this often. I was practically raised on it. You either love it, or hate it. And when u hate it, you really, really hate it. Personally, I love it just like that with some soy sauce and a hot steaming bowl of Japanese sticky rice. Mmm mmm mmm!
Francis – it sure is! I really love it, and it doesn’t matter how it’s prepared, I’ll eat it…
Helen Yuet Ling