Friday 1 February 2013

Century Egg Salad


Who here loves century eggs? Anyone? I must say that I am a big fan of century eggs, especially century duck eggs. I know, I know. The detractors are screwing up their faces and pinching their noses in disgust. How could anyone eat black eggs that smell of ammonia? I would have done the same thing if anyone asked if I liked blue cheese or any kind of runny cheese. It's an acquired taste.

The small ones are century quail eggs.

I love century eggs so much that sometimes I eat them neat. Just peel off the shell and eat it. Century eggs are usually eaten with porridge and sometimes I see it in spinach soup at the restaurant. It is also served as appetizers with pickled ginger. 


Don't they look like gemstones?

I also discovered century duck eggs and these I love a lot. The duck egg yolk is a lot richer and creamier and the black gooey  yolk is disgusting to some but a yum, yum to me. And there is also century quail eggs and they are so cute.



When I came up with the idea of a Century Egg Salad, I did some research I learnt that there are a few versions one being the Burmese Century Egg Salad. Apparently the Burmese century eggs are not black but a beautiful golden amber and the yolks are a deep ochre. Check it out, they are beautiful. The dressing used in the Burmese version is lime/lemon juice and fish sauce. I decided to try my own spin using  brown rice vinegar with ginger, garlic, Thai chilli sauce and soya sauce. For the vegetables, I used carrots, daikon, cucumbers and coriander. 



I liked the taste of the dressing and I think it would go pretty well with any other kinds of salads. Try roasted duck or char siew or even better, siew yoke! This century egg version won't go down well with everyone, but for me I like it a lot. I remember watching an episode of a travel channel and the  British presenter tried a century egg. It did not end up well for her, she was clearly suffering, the poor girl. If there was a challenge Fear Factor style to eat century eggs, I will win hands down :)










Century Egg Salad
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

For salad :
- 4 century chicken or duck eggs, each sliced into quarters
- 10 century quail eggs
- Daikon, grated
- Carrots, grated
- Cucumbers, cut into fine strips
- Cherry tomatoes, sliced into rounds
- Coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- Toasted sesame seeds

For dressing :
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar (more or less according to your taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons finely minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai chilli sauce or sweet chilli sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or any neutral tasting oil
- some finely minced coriander leaves

Method :
1. To make the dressing, put all ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
2. Put all vegetables into a mixing bowl and pour in the dressing. Toss well.
3. Place tossed vegetable onto a serving platter and layer it with the century eggs.
4. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Note : Don't toss the sliced century eggs or else the yolks will be dislodged and won't look nice for presentation.



I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

44 comments:

  1. Looks good. So colourful. My daughter's favourite. Have made potato & hardboiled egg salad before. Will try this soon.

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    1. If your daughter likes century eggs, then she will like this salad.

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  2. Hi Phong Hong
    Me.....unfortunately I dont eat century eggs.....! But nevertheless the salad look refreshing and light. Good for some light dish for new year.

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    Replies
    1. Mel, if the others don't like it, then there's more salad for me :)

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  3. yum-yum sok sokmo buat sedak sedak salad tahu dok aku bangnok suka makan century eggs buat saja tok buat kasi aku makang

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    Replies
    1. EE, you can try to make this with your cherry tomatoes :)

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  4. bela Chinese New Year Delights 2013 kasi aku tahu jagan lupa

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    1. EE go to Sonia's blog. She has put up the CNY Delights roundup.

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  5. Wah 1st time dengar century egg boleh buat salad.I ingat tu telur masin.Nnt nk buat survey kt kedai ubat Cina.Pernah nampak.

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    1. CM suka century egg ke? Baunya "harum" semerbak hih..hih..hih...

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  6. Hi Phong Hong, I can only say Wah, Wah, Wah. Would love to try this salad but I only have 1 century egg left in my fridge. Must go shopping right away. I love the sauce..

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    1. Kimmy, I can tell you like century eggs hah! hah!

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  7. caterpillar hands up!PH teacher,me me me,i love century eggs too!hahaha...
    ai,but sad to said,i stop to eating them since the negative news comes out.
    well,i heard what you said, i have a bit more confidence to be able to eat them again:D

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    1. My good student, I give you two century eggs hah! hah! We can eat it but not too often. I love it a lot but I eat only once in a while and it makes me very happy :)

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  8. Hahaha, Phong Hong, I was the one you meant who doesn't century egg but not exactly not eating at all. I can eat porridge that is cooked with century egg but I won't eat the eggs themselves. I'm sure that people who like the eggs will also love the salad recipe that you came out with! 新年快樂!

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    Replies
    1. Jessie, you can pass your century eggs to me!

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  9. Look at the vibrant colour of ur dish...this is absolutely inviting ! I love century egg, love this dish definitely.

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    Replies
    1. Li Shuan, all those people who don't like it don't know what they are missing!

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  10. i seldom buy century eggs because kids dont appreciate it..anyway your century egg look colourful and refreshing, wish i can try it out now..

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    1. Sonia, I am a century egg fanatic. But I dare not eat too much.

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  11. My other half will certainly enjoy this dish. It looks appetising!

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    1. Thanks, Cheah! So I guess you are not a fan of century eggs :)

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  12. I LOVE century eggs, and my 5 year old boy loves it more than me!! You know what PH, my part two of hong kong top eats include century eggs, and one of my paragraphs read exactly like yours about the fear factor thingy,,hahaha, i wont edit it, will post it just as i have written, then you can see hw similar our sentences are. Quite funny. Must be due to eating so much century eggs kakaka.

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    Replies
    1. Esther, great minds think alike and we have very good taste hah! hah!

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  13. hi PH..i m ur new follower here..nice to hv u in my list..hmm..this is my 1st time heard abt century eggs..as u said its look like gemstone..hehe..i like d dressing..looks tempting! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lesung Batu. Heh..heh...I like your name :) I will be visiting your kitchen soon and see what you are cooking!

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  14. Century eggs are probably a taste I will not acquire a liking for...but they sure are beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Lizzy, I promise I'll never serve this to you!

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  15. We love century eggs! My daughter's favourite! We like it the best when eaten as it is, with homemade pickled ginger! Have not tried it in salad before, a delicious way of eating it. Will try it sometime. Thanks for sharing another one of your creative salad, Queen of Salad!
    Hehehe!

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    Replies
    1. Joyce, glad to know there are century egg lovers out there! Oh and thanks for crowning me Queen of Salad, my mum would be very proud of me hah! hah!

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  16. Cool Man.... you have submitted few recipes already for d Sonia CNY 2013 delight.. Best of luck ok..
    Honestly, I don't know much about this century eggs. Yes, they do look like gemstones.. beautiful.

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    1. Thanks, Ogyep! I am so motivated hah! hah! You probably won't like century eggs because they have a strong smell.

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  17. I like century eggs but not to the extent of eating it on its own, with pickled ginger and in spinach soup is nice! This salad of yours looks delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jeannie! I volunteer to eat century eggs for other people :)

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  18. Hi PH! I'm convinced now that you are really a salad fan!

    Hmmm Century egg salad.. very creative!

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    1. Alvin, I am a salad fan. When I go to a buffet, my first stop is the salad bar. Ahah! I take it that you are not a fan of century eggs :)

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  19. PH, I'm also a big fan of century eggs! Yeah, we've more in common! Love the combination of colours!

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    1. Thanks, Shirley! We can have a century egg feast :)

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  20. Phong Hong, looks like you're not alone. Myself also fan of century eggs.

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  21. hi phong hong, i was just looking at the century eggs a while ago that esther posted, found it interesting too and now again this is interesting too seeing the burmese century eggs, they look so different but beautiful! i dont eat century eggs very often, only had them whenever i order porridge that comes with them and i like eating century eggs with pickled ginger :)

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    1. Lena, I like century eggs in porridge too but most of the time, I just take it by itself. I love it a lot, too much in fact hah! hah!

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  22. Aiyo, Phong Hong,
    My mouth is watering looking at your century egg salad.
    I love C egg. I always eat it with pickled ginger and porridge.
    The quail C egg so cute.. Heehee this is the first time I see quail C egg.
    mui

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    Replies
    1. mui mui, this is first time I bought the quail century egg. Yes, they are very cute!

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