1000 Year Old Eggs
By pickling your eggs in this muck for 100
days, you'll get a egg that is gelatinous and a black/amber color, inside and
out. Popular in China, be warned that it might not be the tastiest morsel to a
westerner...
2 c Tea, brewed very strong and black
1/3 c Salt
2 c Ashes of pine wood
2 c Ashes of charcoal
2 c Fireplace ashes
1 c Lime*
12 Duck eggs, fresh (or chicken eggs, if it's what you can get)
*Not like the citrus fruit lime - as in "potash" lime. Available in garden
stores and nurseries.
Combine tea, salt, ashes and lime. Using about 1/2 cup
per egg, thickly coat each egg completely with this
clay-like mixture. Line a large crock with garden soil
and carefully lay coated eggs on top. Cover with more
soil and place 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:
Sweet pickled scallions or any sweet pickled vegetable
Sauce of 2 tablespoons each vinegar, soy sauce and
rice wine and 1 tablespoon minced ginger root.
They may be purchased individually in Oriental markets.
From "The Regional Cooking of China" by Margret
Gin and Alfred E. Castle, 101 Productions, San
Francisco, 1975.