Balut is a boiled fertilised duck egg with a underdeveloped embryo inside it, usually they are kept outside in the heat and humidity and fertilised for 14 to 17 days and then afterwards kept warm in hot sand until you eat them with a small packet of salt, chilli or vinegar.
I have been told that they taste better warm and if eaten with a cold beer in hand.. I am not sure that I will want to try them again after today! On breaking open the egg a slightly viscous liquid came out and the rest of the egg was hard. The duck had no beak or head but there were plenty of feathers in there which put me off even trying it! Try it I did though as did the children and we all agreed we would not be having it on the menu anytime soon! It tasted like a very strong egg with a slight 'duck' taste! I have seen street vendors selling these delicacies as they are mostly eaten at night here, think that its the filipino equivalent of a kebab after a night on the town!!
The couple who sold me the eggs were most helpful in there history of the different types of eggs and the way that they are cooked, Balut I was told was brought to the Philippines by Chinese migrants and is not actually native to the Philippines but they have adopted the idea and now it is a very popular street food..
When I got home we broke the Balut open as I had two most intrigued children with me.. before we got it out of the shell..
Safe to say I won't be eating that again any time soon but it was something that I really wanted to try, I am sure that if you grew up with Balut it would be appetising but not for me!!
I also bought Penoy from the same vendor, this is an egg that is unfertilised but has also been kept warm for 16-19 days.. when it is boiled for around five hours the white part of the egg solidifies and the yellow part becomes almost like scrambled eggs.. when we broke it open it was like mayonnaise on the inside and had a very strange texture, I could not eat it but my helper said that she loved them so she ate it as a snack :)
And last but not least I bought a salted egg.. My fingers were purple after opening and it did not look too bad inside, the white was still a pleasant white and the yolk was only a little off colour! Great I thought this looks tame in comparison with the scrambled egg and the Balut.. Wrong! This was Evil!! I had to go running to the bin with a mouth full, it made my eyes water!! My driver Assured me today that they are delicious eaten with tomatoes but its not one that I will ever try again!! They are cured in salt for 14 days and then dyed a deep purple colour to distinguish them between regular duck eggs. The taste is so strong that I could still taste it an hour later!
Well I feel that I have really broadened my mind over eggs today, I am still to try 1000 year old eggs but after today I think think that I will happily stick with my fresh chicken egg with soldiers and a kebab after a night on the town :D
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