The market · Dairy and eggs · Southeast Asia, East Asia

Salted eggs

Duck eggs cured in brine or salted clay for weeks until the yolk turns firm, sandy and rich. Eaten with congee, or cooked down for salted-egg prawns.

salty · rich · sandy yolk

What to do with it

Classics built on it
JavaneseRawonA beef soup turned black by keluak nuts, earthy and deep, served with rice, short bean sprouts, a salted egg and sambal.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew porridgeRice cooked in plenty of water only until the grains are soft but whole, eaten with a spread of small salty dishes.No one here has made it yet

If you can't find it

Asian grocers: raw in boxes, or yolks cooked in vacuum packs.

No real swap

Nothing else has the sandy, salty richness. Curing your own takes three to four weeks in strong brine.

Goes with

rice congeeprawnpumpkinchilli

Knowing it

Where to buy
Chinese and Southeast Asian grocers, raw (to cook) or already cooked. Raw ones sometimes come still coated in charcoal paste.
Worth knowing
For salted-egg sauces, steam the yolks, mash them, then foam them in butter with curry leaves and chilli.

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