Century Egg

With origins from China, century egg is a Chinese delicacy made by preserving chicken, quail, or duck eggs. Also called thousand -year old egg or preserved egg, this recipe calls for preserving egg in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for a few weeks to a few months despite its name referring to a well aged, thousand year old food. Growing up as a Chinese-American, I was exposed to a variety of foods that many would claim unusual or possibly revolting. Without fully understanding this recipe, many people first make the assumption that it is untasty because of its name (not many people enjoy eating food that are what they believe to be too old) or its appearance.
Though I personally do not enjoy this dish myself, I am aware of the delicacy that many people enjoy. Compared to what a regular hard boiled egg looks like (white with a yellow yolk), the white of century egg becomes dark brown and looks like jello while the yolk becomes dark green to grey in color and creamy in texture after it is preserved. There is a vast list of recipes that include century egg; ranging from the egg by itself to with tofu or in soups. This food has been a favorite of China for many years and continues to reach to people over the globe willing to try an unusual twist to a common food. As a child, the appearance always kept me straying away from the dish, finding myself not a fan of the texture that the egg presents. Perhaps I will give the egg another try someday!