January 5, 2014

Chinese Salted Egg 鹹鴨蛋

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋
By Published: 2014-01-05
You want to know why homemade food is worth your time and effort?  Because it tastes so incredible, that's why!  Since we have started making more and more things from scratch I have discovered that it's not really about money saving, but about super taste!  Which is great if you love food and eating like we do.  Very consistently homemade foods taste waaaay better than than the crappy commercial stuff you pay for.  

We recently tried making our own Chinese Salted Egg and 'Wow!' were we happy with the results!  The bright orange yolk was lusciously greedily oily while the egg whites were salty, yes, but also permeated with the scents of star anise, cinnamon and szechuan pepper used in the brine. Chinese Salted Egg is super easy to make, you just have to find a source for fresh duck eggs (chicken eggs can be substituted, I've heard), brine the eggs and then wait for 20-30 days.  What?! So long you say!  All good things come to those who wait...we promise!

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

Duck yolks are traditionally used for the Chinese salted egg, but you can use chicken eggs to make these as well.  In that regard living in Hong Kong is an advantage.  For the fresh duck eggs we simply went our local hong kong wet market.  

There's a little store at the wet market where an old couple have been selling eggs forever and they have really interesting eggy stuff like free range eggs, etc., for really, really reasonable prices.  The old egg man is a prickly bear with a soft spot for little kids and cats.  At first he was super grumpy with us and now that we've been going to his shop for a while, he's much nicer.  His wife is sometimes there too. 

The day that we bought these duck eggs (almost two dozen!) there was only the little old egg lady there keeping shop and she could just barely lift our bag of eggs!  What a wonderful thing to be working and keeping busy even as you get old.  I want to do that!

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

You will have to really wash the eggs well.  I was using an old toothbrush at first but then ended up just using my finger to gently scrape off all the yuckies.  (Update:  I've discovered that gently using a bit of steel wool is the best way to clean the eggs!)  

Duck eggs are a beautiful blushing blue color that will intensify after brining.  The reason it is preferable to use duck eggs rather than chicken eggs is a flavor issue.  Duck eggs are more oily for whatever reason so salted duck egg yolks are really prized for their creamy, oily, fragrant taste and texture.  These same duck egg yolks are what is used inside of Chinese Mooncakes.

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

Another great thing you can get at your Hong Kong local wet market is spices!  You can get all kinds of spices and they are always sold in small quantities which is great because you won't end up with jars and jars of spices that will take forever to use up (I plead guilty!).  

We used Szechuan pepper, Star Anise,  Cinnamon or Cassia Bark and Black Cardamom.  Ummm...these spices smell seriously good!  As for the most important ingredient, the salt, well, if you can afford it get sea salt.  Sea Salt not only provides extra minerals for your body but also adds a wonderful flavor element.  In other words, sea salt is tasty, not just salty.  

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

chinese, salted egg, duck egg, salted duck egg, recipe, homemade, 鹹鴨蛋

The top image is of our delicious Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Duck Egg  咸蛋蒸肉餅. Just look at that yolk oozing with delicious yolky oil!   The bottom image is Salted Duck Egg steamed on top of rice as it is cooking (just put the whole egg on top of rice and water before cooking.)  The yolk, as you can see, was a luscious, melt in your mouth, fragrantly oily taste sensation!  

When I was a little girl I used to fight with my sisters for my "fair" share of the Salted Duck Egg yolk.  Nowadays my little girl and her daddy and I fight over the egg yolk.  Yeah, a family tradition continued!  But seriously, my little girl loves Salted Duck Egg yolk and always asks for more because it is so yummy!
Chinese Salted Duck Egg Recipe 鹹鴨蛋
(20 eggs)  Prep: 5 mins  Cook time: 5 mins  Brine: 20 days

Ingredients:


Directions:

Clean eggs thoroughly.  Make sure eggs are not broken.  Bring water, salt and spices to boil until all salt is dissolved.  Turn heat off and let cool to room temperature.  Add the wine.

 Carefully place your eggs into your glass jar or porcelain container.  Pour your cooled brine over the eggs.  The brine should be able to cover the eggs completely.  If not top up with a little bit of cool boiled water.  Use a lid or plate to weight down the eggs so that they are submerged in the brine completely.  

Cover and store at room temperature for around a month.  Test one egg by cooking it.  If it is salty enough for your taste, remove all eggs from brine, rinse with water and store in the fridge.  If not salty enough, let the eggs brine for another week before rinsing and storing.  Happy Eggy days!

Tip: Update!  We have found that the perfect length of time for us for brining the salted duck eggs is 20 days.  The eggs have a perfect balance of oily yolk and salty (but not too salty) egg white.

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44 comments:

  1. Hi can u reuse the salt water?

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    1. Hi Ivy - Yes, you sure can reuse the salt water! We've been doing just that. Be sure to have clean, dry hands and utensils whenever you touch the salt water so as not to contaminate it and your salt water can be reused many times. Always check with a good sniff for any off smells and look for any bubbling (bad) before reusing. ~ellen

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    2. Almost forgot! Also make sure your duck eggs are completely dry before submerging them in the salt water! ~ellen

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    3. And do you need to add more salt and other ingredients and bring them to boil before reusing? Thanks.

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    4. I would add 3 tbsp of salt and 1/2 cup water, then bring all to a boil, cool completely, then reuse. ~ellen

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  2. Hi Ellen: Can you please post the recipe for "Salted Egg Steamed Pork Patty" - I assume it is 鹹蛋蒸豬肉? My mother used to make it when I was little but I can't make it taste like hers. Thanks!

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    1. Hi H Gotts - glad to hear from you again! I can't believe I forgot to post Steamed Salted Egg Pork Patty, we make it all the time. Will rectify soon, thks ~ellen

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    2. Hi Ellen: So glad to discover your posts. I have two question.
      1. Can you give me the science behind "drying the duck eggs" before submerging in salt water?
      2. If brine was contaminated by my fingers, Can I reboil to use the salt brine again.
      Thank you.

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    3. 1) Dry the egg so as not to add any contamination from water into the brine. 2) Yes, can boil to purify the salt brine, so long as you do it straight away. Hope that explains it ~ellen

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  3. Thanks Ellen for the salted egg recipe.

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  4. How long would the eggs last before needing to be used? Would you just continue to store it in the salty brine indefinitely until use?

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    1. Hi Julie - Don't store your duck eggs in the salty brine past the time when you think it is ready as it will just continue to get saltier and saltier. Stored in the fridge, the salted eggs will last up to 2-3 weeks. ~ellen

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  5. Hi! Did I understand it right that we have to remove the eggs from the brine solution and we can store it in the fridge without boiling for 2-3 weeks? How long can uncooked and cooked salted eggs stay in the fridge without spoiling?

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    1. Hi Grace - Yes, you should store the brined eggs uncooked in fridge until you want to eat them. You can't keep eggs in the brine as it will keep getting saltier. Once cooked I would try to eat them up in a day or two (store in fridge meanwhile). ~ellen

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  6. I brined the eggs 3 days ago and the brine is currently BROWN. Is that normal/okay? Should I redo the brine? Thank you!!

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    1. Hi Meeshkee - Shaoxing wine is brown to start with and the spices probably will make it more brown. My brine is always brown as well, as long as it smells fresh and aromatic it should be fine! ~Ellen

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    2. Thanks Ellen! I'll put my nose in it to test, and appreciate your response!

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  7. If you want the eggs to get done a bit faster, a tip I got from my parents is to dip the eggs in vinegar for a few seconds, and then wipe them dry, before putting them in the brine. This is supposed to make the shell a bit more porous.
    Also, if you don't have Shaoxing wine, any liquor would work. I have used Maotai, scotch and vodka.

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    1. Thanks for the great tip! I will definitely try with scotch one of these days. Does it make the taste much different? ~ellen

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  8. hi ellen
    is it normal if the eggs crack abit
    as when i put.in the glass container there wasnt cracks
    ... should i redo

    thx

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    1. Hi Carol - There really shouldn't be cracks, the cracks probably happen when eggs put into the container, you have to be real careful. I've cracked my eggs before as well and they aren't perfect but definitely usable. It's just that the egg white will leak out into salt solution and you can't reuse the salt solution. ~ellen

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  9. Hi Ellen.
    How about salmonella? Duck eggs are known to probably have that. Do you know if the salt kills the salmonella?
    -Hans

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    1. Hi HansL - Be careful not to use cracked eggs, clean egg surface thoroughly, and you won't need to worry about salmonella. And also, chinese duck eggs are always thoroughly cooked, which will kill salmonella anyways. ~ellen

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  10. Hey Ellen! Quick question for you... after cooking our eggs, the yolk stayed a very mild yellow. Not an orangish-reddish color or oily whatsoever. Is there anything that can be done whilst making the next batch to get the beautiful desired yolk color? We tried cooking one egg after the recommended 20 days then another egg after 25 days.

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    1. Hey Justin - did you use duck eggs or chicken eggs? Duck eggs are more orangey in color and definitely more oily, which is why they are the preferred egg for this. If you only have access to chicken eggs, maybe search for the eggs that have a tendency for orange yolks. But for oily yolk, I think the duck egg will be better. Hope that helps ~ellen

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  11. Once the eggs are ready. How do you cook the eggs?

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    1. You cook the eggs exactly as you would hardboiled eggs, by boiling in water for 10 mins or so. Or you could steam the eggs. Traditionally it is served by slicing longwise in half, shell on (see image above.) Place on a small plate and let the diners use chopsticks to scoop bits into their rice as they eat. The egg white is quite salty so small quantities of it with rice is perfect. ~ellen

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  12. Is it necessary to cover and store at room temperature or can i store in refrigerator? Thank you

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    1. Brine at room temperature in cool area and once the salted eggs are done brining you should store in the fridge. ~ellen

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  13. My salted eggs are too salty.Is there any way to lessen the the saltiness while they are still raw so they are not too salty when i cook them?

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    1. Try reducing the brining time. The less time the eggs brine, the less salty they will be. ~ellen

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  14. I tried that before.Instead of soaking them for 4 weeks ,I Only soaked them for 3 weeks but the salth did not penetrate the yolk. The yolk was just the same as the normal hard boil eggs and not so salty.The 4 week old ones have a perfect texture and color and are oily but a bit too salty.

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    1. You have to adjust the time of soaking to your preference for saltiness. ~ellen

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  15. Hi Eilen,
    Please advise ASAP can we use those "resuable" salt and rock salt leftover from "salt bake" chicken? Cos we got plenty rock salt left over after making this salt bake chicken long time ago.
    Many thanks!

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    1. Totally you should reuse it! Just let it cool to room temp and then store it in a ziplock for your next salt bake adventure ~ellen

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  16. If I want to use the yolks to make mooncakes do I cook the eggs first or do I take the yolks out and cook separately?

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    1. Hi Josephine - for use in mooncakes you don’t need to cook the yolks. Break open and you’ll find the yolk are hardened already, just separate from the whites then use in the mooncakes. They will cook as the mooncakes are baked. ~ellen

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  17. Is it advisable to cook the salted eggs for an hour?

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  18. Cook salted eggs for 10 mins in boiling water. Or you can also steam for 12 mins. ~ellen

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  19. What if one egg wasn't submerged all the way? Can I still eat the eggs. I threw that one away and boiled one and it looked and smelled fine inside but the brine has a fishy smell along with the shells

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  20. If the egg smells and tastes okay, then it's okay. The brine might smell a tiny bit, that's normal. ~ellen

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  21. Should I remove star anise, peppercorns and cinnamon bark from cooled brine before emerging eggs in glass jar.

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  22. No need, just keep em in there to increase the flavor. ~ellen

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