Thursday, June 18, 2009

Century Egg Tofu (Pi Dan Tofu)

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Both work and life in general have been keeping me busy, but here's another super quick and super easy dish. *Warning* - it's not for everyone.

See that black jelly like stuff in the picture? That's an egg. Yup, a hundred year old egg! It's not really a hundred years old, that's just what it's called. It's also known as century egg or pi dan in Chinese. Here's what it looks like with the shell on.

How do they get the egg that way? They cake it in clay, ash, salt and some other stuff to preserve it. Even if you can get passed its appearance, it's definitely an acquired taste and texture, and tastes nothing like an egg. I know a guy who will eat everything from chicken feet to scorpions to bull testicles, etc, but won't touch this stuff with a ten foot pole. Then there are people like me who absolutely adore it.

So, if you're feeling adventurous, give this a try. It's a nice refreshing dish that's especially nice on a hot summer day, and who knows, you may fall in love with it too!

Ingredients:
- 2 century eggs
- 1 block of silken tofu
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Sesame oil
- Green onions or bonito flakes as a garnish (optional)

Directions:
- Dice the tofu into large cubes.
- Dice the century eggs into large cubes.
- Top the century egg and tofu with a few dashes of soy, a healthy drizzle of oyster sauce and a splash of sesame oil.
- Garnish with green onions or bonito flakes if you want.
- Mix everything together and serve cold.

18 comments:

pigpigscorner said...

I love century eggs! What a great way to enjoy it.

Creative Classroom Core said...

Ive never heard of century eggs before! Thanks for sharing :)

That Girl said...

I have mixed feelings about the century egg. On one hand I want to try it, but on the other hand I'm a little afraid.

What's Cookin Chicago said...

This looks great - it's a nice change since I tend to only eat century eggs with my congee. I'll have to give this a try!

Reeni said...

The century egg shell looks so pretty - all speckled like that. I've never tried one! I love hearing about the foods you eat - so different from my own.

lisaiscooking said...

I'd love to try it! Can you compare the taste or smell to anything else?

gaga said...

Hmmm, how to describe the taste...

The "white" of the egg is like like a super firm jello with quite a bit of "snap" to it, if that makes sense. If anything, it has a slight metallic taste, but it's pretty flavorless imo.

The "yolk" has the consistency of mud? I know, that sounds super appetizing, doesn't it? It's a bit sticky in texture and tastes sulfurish?

Haha. It's hard to describe and I'm probably not convincing anyone into trying it with my attempt, but if you're feeling adventurous, keep an open mind and you might like it...

pixen said...

This is one of my favourite weird food! At first, it's really offensive with it's ammonia taste and smell akin to 'urine'. You know like the Scandinavian's Hákarl aka rotten shark meat, a signature dish of the Thorrablot festival.

My mom used to tell the eggs were fermented in horse urine! :-D I grew up to love the taste... horse urine or not. Of course, the century eggs were usually eaten with pickled ginger or in rice porridge but I also like it as it is.

Now, I wondered if Andrew Zimmerman ever tried this besides Balut :-D

judyfoodie said...

Love century eggs! I've been looking for a way to have them besides in congee. Thanks for sharing!

Lil'Ho said...

Mmm my mouth is watering just from looking at your pictures. Reminds me of my childhood. In fact, I think I'm homesick now.

nick said...

I also never heard of these eggs before. From where does on acquire such interesting items?

I'd say there is a 95% chance I would hate it, but I'd rather try and be right then never know for sure!

Jessica@FoodMayhem said...

I love Pi Dan Tofu but it's certainly not for everyone. It's kind of an acquired taste.

foodhoe said...

I haven't quite acquired the taste and after reading some of the descriptive comments here, I'm kinda grossed out! That is one intimidating looking object. I do love tofu with green onion and katsuobushi however...

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Unknown said...

I've been on a pi-dan tofu binge recently, having had it the last three days. I found your page only cause I was looking up the side effects of eating too much pi dan. Anyway, I fell in love with this dish when I was in Shanghai. I used to hate pi-dan, wouldn't touch it with a 20 ft. pole. After having it at Bellagio in SH, I can't go without. Anyway, try it with some rou shong, cilantro, green onion, sesame oil, chopped peanuts and soy sauce paste.

And, if you have any info on whether its OK to eat urine-preserved duck eggs everyday, please let me know!

gaga said...

Haha Kai. You are too funny!

Your suggestions definitely sound tasty, I'll give it a try some time. And I don't know about side effects of eating too much pi-dan or urine preserved duck eggs. Sorry. In fact, I'm avoiding it right now because I have no idea whether or not it's safe for preggies. =/

gaga said...

Haha Kai. You are too funny!

Your suggestions definitely sound tasty, I'll give it a try some time. And I don't know about side effects of eating too much pi-dan or urine preserved duck eggs. Sorry. In fact, I'm avoiding it right now because I have no idea whether or not it's safe for preggies. =/

kt said...

I love century eggs too! My husband calls them "rotten eggs," but he also adores them. What a great blog! I'm so happy my quest for nrm led me here. :)