Thousand Year Old Eggs (pei dan)

[hzrt8w]

I have a box of Thousand Year Old Eggs (pei dan [Cantonese]) stashed in the back of the cupboard. I didn't realize it until now. They must have been purchased a couple of years ago. I could not tell exactly when.

I thought that Thousand Year Old Eggs can be kept for a thousand year! When I broke one opened, I found that the egg yolk had turned solid (no more liquidy yolk). The egg white had turned pale. The whole inside shrank in size by at least 20%. It no longer has the flavor.

How long do you think pei dan can be kept?

[Tepee]

Your question: Can you keep it for a thousand years?

Answer: Why? Will you be around to eat it?

Throw it away. We only buy enough to consume within the week, never to keep. I like my thousand year old eggs 'fresh'.

[hzrt8w]

Your question: Can you keep it for a thousand years?

Answer: Why? Will you be around to eat it?

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No. I just want to see how often I need to check my cupboard.

[Dejah]

What's happening to this forum? Ah Sook, GaJeah turn their attention elsewhere and the kitchen turns into a comedy club!?

I imagine the eggs would evaporate...dry out?

Don't they cover these eggs in ash and lime for the "preserving"?

So, ashes to ashes...........

[torakris]

When I broke one opened, I found that the egg yolk had turned solid (no more liquidy yolk). 

←

Are they really supposed to be runny?

The ones I have eaten in Japan always have very firm yolks, like this.

DO you think they are old?

[Yuki]

When I broke one opened, I found that the egg yolk had turned solid (no more liquidy yolk). 

←

Are they really supposed to be runny?

The ones I have eaten in Japan always have very firm yolks, like this.

DO you think they are old?

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A Thousands Year Egg with a soft centre is regarded as a better product. If restaurant want to serve thousand year egg and ginger as appetizer, they better go search for some eggs with a soft centre. I think the softness is due to the amount of time that it is buried(someone please check this).

I know that in the traditional Hong Kong wet market, there are stores that sell eggs. The owners would separte the thousands year eggs into different piles, the eggs with soft yolk are always the most expensive.

Edit: I also want to say that there is also a large difference regarding the softness of the eggs. Some yolks woud just be soft, but the best one would be kind of like the texture of glue.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Yuki (log)

[torakris]

is there some way to tell by looking at them (or touching them) if the yolks are soft?

[hzrt8w]

What's happening to this forum?  Ah Sook, GaJeah turn their attention elsewhere and the kitchen turns into a comedy club!?

.....

Don't they cover these eggs in ash and lime for the "preserving"?

←

Where have you been? Blame it on Tepee. She's our comedian! Always make me crack up.

I remember in the "old" days: 60's/70's, they used to sell pei dan which were still preserved in ashes/lime/grain-shells. But in recent decades, the eggs in the packages have all been cleaned. I like the old ways in that they preserve the eggs better. But the modern packaging is a lot more convenient, of course. I remember I used to hate helping my father to prepare pei dan because it was such a "dirty work".

Edited September 17, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[hzrt8w]

Are they really supposed to be runny?

The ones I have eaten in Japan always have very firm yolks, like this.

DO you think they are old?

←

The Chinese stores carry two kind of pei dan. Like Yuki said, the one with a runny yolk is supposed to be more "delicate". In Cantonese, we describe the runny-yolk kind as tong sum pei dan (meaning the center is sweet). Usually, or supposedly, they say it on the label.

(Mine was supposed to be the runny-yolk kind, which turned solid. )

I don't know if there is an easy way to tell by just looking at the egg or back-light the egg with some light.

[Yuki]

is there some way to tell by looking at them (or touching them)  if the yolks are soft?

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Hold the egg with two fingers, then use your other hand to flick the egg. If you can feel the egg bouncing inside, then the yolk is soft.

Where have you been?  Blame it in Tepee. She's our comedian! Always make me crack up. 

I remember in the "old" days: 60's/70's, they used to sell pei dan which were still preserved in ashes/lime/grain-shells. But in recent decades, the eggs in the packages have all been cleaned. I like the old ways in that they preserve the eggs better. But the modern packaging is a lot more convenient, of course. I remember I used to hate happening my father to prepare pei dan because it was such a "dirty work". 

Yeah, I can't find good pei dan here too since all of them are packaged. In Hong Kong, the only place(other than restaurant) to find good pei dan is at those egg stall but they are starting to disappear now. I remember how all the wife would crowd up the egg store and check each egg under the bright lamp to make sure all the eggs are perfect.

[yimay]

Are they really supposed to be runny?

The ones I have eaten in Japan always have very firm yolks, like this.

DO you think they are old?

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my entire life living in the states, i always had pi dan that had solid centers. two years ago, during a visit in taiwan i had some with a soft, runny yolk and i was in heaven. for 28 years i had no idea what i was missing. mom says you can't find runny ones like that in the states (or at least where we lived). so yes, they are old. the ones that are shipped here have been sitting on the shelf for so long, they get harder and harder over time. so sad.

[Laksa]

Hold the egg with two fingers, then use your other hand to flick the egg. If you can feel the egg bouncing inside, then the yolk is soft.

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Not sure if I did this right. I held the egg up against bright sunlight, right by my kitchen window...but couldn't see much.

I held the egg between two fingers like you said, and flicked it. I underestimated my own strength, and the egg flew out of my hands and through my neighbour's open window. The Cantonese lady who lives next door was waiting to catch it with a basket! She disappeared with the egg, shouting to someone in the house how she'd found a great way to score pei-dan using an Internet forum.

[Tepee]

OK, my almost 4 yo thinks I'm seow (off my rocker), laughing at the screen!!! One of these days, they are coming to take me away...........tks to this forum!

Edited September 20, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[hzrt8w]

Tepee you have a great challenger. [Grammy's music] This week's Best Actor/Actress in a Comedy Series goes to..... Laksa! [Clap clap clap...]

[mudbug]

Hold the egg with two fingers, then use your other hand to flick the egg. If you can feel the egg bouncing inside, then the yolk is soft.

Now that is a true "eGullet" response.

A funny vision appears in my head of several people attempting this...

Edited October 6, 2005 by mudbug (log)

[stephenc]

Looks like we have a bunch of pei dans in this forum.

[mudbug]

Ok, seriously.

At what length of time would you definitely question the shelf life of this product? It's not refrigerated on the shelves at the Asian grocery. And what if it were refrigerated? Would this have an adverse effect or would it last longer, or does it matter?

[Kouign Aman]

The one I bought in the airport was already peeled and vacuum-packed. It had a stamped 'best by' date of ~ 2 weeks.

[mudbug]

The one I bought in the airport was already peeled and vacuum-packed. It had a stamped 'best by' date of ~ 2 weeks.

Interesting. I wonder if they're made differently these days. I thought the entire point was that it's a way to preserve food for those times when food is not plentiful back before refrigerators and synthetic preservatives were available.

[hzrt8w]

Here is what my experience is, from someone who keeps buying stuff and easily forgets what's stacked in the cupboard...

I have not seen pei dan stored in the refrigerator in the grocery store. They are sold in room temperature. After you have bought the eggs, you should use them ASAP. I don't know how long they will last. A few weeks maybe. When I bought pei dan from some of these stores, they were already dried and had lost flavor. Apparently they got stuck in the store for who-knows-how-long before I bought them. There is no way to tell from the outside especially now they shrink-wrap all eggs in styrofoam packages. Chinese manufacturers don't put date stamps on the package to tell you to "use it by...". (Are you kidding?) Go figure.

Unlike salted eggs, pei dans don't go rotten. As time goes by, they dry up. Instead of soft like jello, it's a bit hard like rubber.

In the old days, the keep pei dan in the preservatives (salt, limestone and mud mixed with rice shells?). As long as the eggs are coated with these preservatives, they last much longer. In the old days, they sold pei dan in those preservatives. Modern packaging did not emerge until the 80's. In the name of convenience, the shelf-life goes down the drain.

[sheetz]

In the old days, the keep pei dan in the preservatives (salt, limestone and mud mixed with rice shells?). 

Old days? Boy, do you make me feel ancient becauase I remember this very well.

[hzrt8w]

In the old days, the keep pei dan in the preservatives (salt, limestone and mud mixed with rice shells?). 

Old days? Boy, do you make me feel ancient becauase I remember this very well.

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Well... 20 years ago...

[gfron1]

Here is a previous thread that has some pics.

[mudbug]

hzrt8w,

Thank you for your last post. It's exactly the info I was looking for.

gfron1,

Your pics only made me hungry.

I was taking about this with a cousin a couple of weeks ago along with haam yu aka salted fish. Indulgences that require no one else walk in unexpectedly unless they are ok with the aromas to begin with. We decided we both needed a fix since neither of us have had these in years. Tonight is the night. I'll be harvesting fresh bok choy to drizzle with hot peanut oil, soy sauce and salt & pepper. Skiimming threads is making me consider bringing a salted egg, salted duck (lop gnap?), preserved vegetable, fresh ong choy to cook with fermented bean curd and plenty of Dr. Pepper and of course a big bowl of rice. We can't find any good crispy skin pork belly around here so someone has to bring that...

Oh.... this is going to be sooooo goooood.

Anyone want to join us?

Edited June 21, 2006 by mudbug (log)

[Kouign Aman]

The one I bought in the airport was already peeled and vacuum-packed. It had a stamped 'best by' date of ~ 2 weeks.

Interesting. I wonder if they're made differently these days. I thought the entire point was that it's a way to preserve food for those times when food is not plentiful back before refrigerators and synthetic preservatives were available.

←

This one was packaged for quick snacking, rather than for long shelf-life, much as a hardboiled egg could be (tho I've never seen anyone selling vacuumpacked peeled hardboiled eggs). Sailors often preserve fresh eggs for months by storing them in damp sand or isinglass. Similar concept to the 1000-yr eggs but without the flavorful and colorful chemical changes from the coating. Sounds like the general conclusion, even with the coating still on, is "eat em while they are fresh" which is both sensible and yet hilarious considering what "fresh" means in this context!