Thousand Year Old Eggs (pei dan)

[Fugu]

Kent Wang mentioned that the pei dan that hzrtw8 had on his latest thread was very good qualiyty. I wanted to know how to distinguish good pei dan to a bad one. Got my answer here, thanks.

I've been snacking on plain pei dan since I was a boy and love the flavour and texture. Aside from being served with pickled ginger, in congee and mixed appetizer platter(jellyfish, 5 spice pressed pork, peking duck, roast pork), what else is pei dan used for?

Thanks

[SheenaGreena]

what do they taste like? the one in ah leung's honk kong post look absolutely stunning...almost jewel like. I am used to stinky korean food, but have no idea about strong flavoured chinese ones. Also are they expensive? How much would a box of them cost?

[Ben Hong]

The "bad" ones can taste terrible, much akin to eating a rotten egg inside a horse barn redolent with ammonia. The good ones taste like nothing you've ever eaten before, but it's an acquired taste (took me most of my adult life to learn to like them, and I am old). Texturally, the yolk is soft and silky and the blackened whites have a bouncy feel. They are cheap, about 35-50 cents each or cheaper.

Before eating the pei dan, I found that if I quarter them a half hour before, much of the ammonia stench will have dissipated.

[hzrt8w]

what do they taste like?  the one in ah leung's honk kong post look absolutely stunning...almost jewel like.  I am used to stinky korean food, but have no idea about strong flavoured chinese ones.  Also are they expensive?  How much would a box of them cost?

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They are fairly inexpensive - even for the Yung Kee quality ones. They are called "Tong Sum Pei Dan" (Sugar Center Pei San). Named so, I believe, because the center (yolk) is liquidish like sugar syrup. They are the best kind, better than the all solid ones.

Regular pei dan in the USA: a box of 6, about US$1.50 to US$2.00.

[hzrt8w]

I've been snacking on plain pei dan since I was a boy and love the flavour and texture. Aside from being served with pickled ginger, in congee and mixed appetizer platter(jellyfish, 5 spice pressed pork, peking duck, roast pork), what else is pei dan used for?

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Many uses. Cantonese use them in cooking. e.g.

- Steamed eggs (mix of chicken eggs, salted duck eggs, pei dan)

- Bakery snack (pen dan so - a cake that has pei dan as the core)

[DylanK]

The ones for sale in supermarkets here specifically say on the label: "HARD YOLKS." They're definitely a lot drier and cleaner than we bought in mainland raw markets, where they're still sold filthy and delicious. The white is less glassy and bouncy and the yolk is, as the label suggests, harder. The flavor seems a little more tame, too.

For lunch today, at a restaurant advertising Sichuan dishes, we had ma la pi dan (麻辣皮蛋), something I never saw on a menu in China. The pi dan are deepfried, then chao'd with chilis and onion. It was aight. They tasted just like the deepfried boiled eggs you'd boil with bai cai or something, though, lacking that special pi dan flavor.

My favorite way to eat them is probably just all diced up and laid on top of some soft, fresh, sliced up tofu. Or, maybe, in porridge.

[Dejah]

The "bad" ones can taste terrible, much akin to eating a rotten egg inside a horse barn redolent with ammonia.

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Every once in a while, I get a craving and have one for a snack with pickled ginger or shallots, but mostly, I like pei dan diced into my jook.

[Kent Wang]

Isn't the Mandarin "pi dan"?

[liuzhou]

Isn't the Mandarin "pi dan"?

Yes. pídàn

[CommissionerLin]

Anyone tried nouveau peidan? Pioneered in Taiwan, they require 10 mins of boiling, but the white is clear like perspex and the centres are runny. Haven't tried them myself but have been looking out for them since I first came across them in a book.