Balut from Southeastern Asia

In popular media

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Balut has been the "shocking" topic of some television shows because of its taboo nature in some Western cultures. In two episodes of Survivor: Palau and two episodes of Survivor: China, separate challenges featured attempts to eat this Asian delicacy. Similarly, Fear Factor frequently uses balut as a means of grossing out contestants. Recently, contestants of The Amazing Race Asia 2 had to eat 8 baluts as a team before receiving their next clue. The Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern also featured Balut, where the host pronounced 18-day-old balut one of the strangest foods he'd ever eaten in his life, but far better tasting than he had expected. The members of the rock band Switchfoot ate balut on stage at their concert in the Philippines. Episode 28 of the Switchfoot Podcast shows video footage of this occurrence.

In Fantasy Hotel, one of the beginning episodes show Ga Mun, played by Melissa Ng as a disgraced tour guide who vomits at her customers when they order a balut at a Vietnamese restaurant in Hong Kong, earning her the wrath of co-worker and leader Kum Chi Kit (played by Michael Tao). This was used as a running gag throughout the rest of the series and Kum Chi Kit finally admitted that he too, was disgusted with balut.

Preparation

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A 15-day-old balut egg floating in a mixture of hot sauce and patis.

Balut are most often eaten with a pinch of salt, though some balut-eaters prefer chili and vinegar to complement their egg. The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors; the broth surrounding the embryo is sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled and the yolk and young chick inside can be eaten. All of the contents of the egg are consumed, although the whites can be uneaten. In the Philippines, balut have recently entered higher cuisine by being served as appetizers in restaurants: cooked adobo style, fried in omelettes or even used as filling in baked pastries.

Balut-making is not native to the Philippines. A similar preparation is known in China as maodan (Chinese: 毛蛋; pinyin: máodàn; literally "feathered egg"), and Chinese traders and migrants are said to have brought the idea of eating fertilized duck eggs to the Philippines. However, the knowledge and craft of balut-making has been localized by the balut-makers (mangbabalut). Today, balut production has not been mechanized in favor of the traditional production by hand. Although balut are produced throughout the Philippines, balut-makers in Pateros are renowned for their careful selection and incubation of the eggs.

Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten. Vendors sell cooked balut out of buckets of sand, used to retain warmth, and are accompanied by small packets of salt. Uncooked balut are rarely sold in Southeast Asia. In the United States, many Asian markets occasionally carry uncooked balut eggs, though their demand in North America is not very great. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are enjoyed while still warm.

Duck eggs that are not properly developed after nine to twelve days are sold as penoy, which look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In Filipino cuisine, these are occasionally beaten and fried, similar to scrambled eggs, and served with a vinegar dip.

The age of the egg before it can be cooked is a matter of local preference. In the Philippines, the perfect balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be balut sa puti ("wrapped in white"). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws and the bones are undeveloped. The Vietnamese prefer their balut matured from 19 days up to 21 days, when the chick is old enough to be recognizable as a baby duck and has bones that will be firm but tender when cooked. In Cambodia, most people prefer to eat it while it is still warm in its shell. Served with nothing more than a little garnish, it is widely popular. Usually, it is accompanied by a mixture of lime juice and ground pepper.

A Balut

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A balut (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese, Pong tea khon in Cambodian) is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are common, everyday food in some countries in Asia, such as in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation. This food however is uncommon in Malaysia.

Duck eggs

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Duck eggs that have not developed zygote after nine to twelve days will look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In the Philippines, the perfect balut is 17 days old.

Balut can be made earlier, but even Westerners who tasted it agreed that older than 17 days is better than younger. Around 17 days, the duckling inside has undeveloped its beak, feathers or claws and bones.

The Vietnamese balut is from 19 days up to 21 days, when the duckling is old enough to be recognizable and has firm but tender bones.

Well, a question remains: why balut is made from duck eggs and not from hen eggs? Balut eaters agree that "chicken balut" has a bad taste, to say the least ...

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They match and are often served with beer. Balut are most often eaten with a pinch of salt, though some prefer to pipe the balut in vinegar-onion sauce, chili or vinegar to complement their egg. The hot egg is flicked carefully, but forcefully at the top with the middle finger and a small hole is gently removed from the top, so the savory broth can be sipped before removing the whole shell.

The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors. After peeling the egg, the yolk and young chick inside can be eaten. It's usually just eaten all the way through, in about 3 mouthful bites. Forming feathers, head, wings, and skeleton can be seen, but it's basically an extra-chewy Easter egg.

Even if balut is associated with the Philippines, it is not native to the Philippines. On the continent, the most similar balut is found in Cambodia. A similar Chinese plate is known as maodan ("hairy egg"), and Chinese traders and migrants are supposed to have brought it to the Philippines. Maodan is served skewered.

Balut-making has been localized by the balut-makers and even today balut manufacturing has not been mechanized. The eggs that after nine days in the sun have formed zygote inside enter into the production of balut. 8 days later, the eggs are ready for the balut. Uncooked Balut is usually sold boiled, rarely raw. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are enjoyed while still warm.

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2008-04-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Duffy Duck would have had a cruel faith in the Philippines even before birth. Or at least his offspring would have. ‘Cause of the local delicacies in the Philippines is balut: ducklings boiled before they hatch.
Fertilized duck eggs are let to develop until, on average, 17 days and then boiled. The nearly-developed embryo is consumed in the shell. Balut ("wrapped" in Filipino) is in fact also very appreciated in China, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is thought to be an aphrodisiac and it is in fact a high-protein, hearty snack. Baluts are mostly sold by street vendors at night. "The flavor is savory and delicious; the texture satisfying" said Western travelers who surpassed the idea of eating something with shit and feathers...