Chinese Recipes with Century Egg

Century egg is a type of preserved ingredient in Chinese cuisine. Learn how to eat it with 3 rice porridge recipes and 3 soup recipes.

Born out of an approach not to waste food, whenever there is an egg glut, egg farmers will preserve them so that they don’t spoil. Salted egg is another type of preserved ingredient. Century egg is also called the thousand-year egg but it is not actually that old. It only takes around a month to make.

The Mandarin name is 皮蛋 (pi dan) which roughly means “leather egg”. Why such a bizarre name?

It could be because of its colour. The egg is generally blackish and brownish. The egg white is brownish, like firm jelly, and is tasteless. The texture is similar to a hard-boiled egg. The egg yolk is greyish and creamy. Some say it has a sulphurous smell. I had very little encounter with sulphur, so I can’t say.

Snowflake-like patterns sometimes appear on the egg white. It used to fascinate me when I was a child. The next time you buy century eggs, try looking for these patterns. 

Century egg is usually made with duck eggs but chicken eggs have been preserved as well. The preservation ingredients are generally considered toxic. However, in recent years, the making of century egg has become more modern using healthier ingredients. One Taiwan manufacturer even only uses sea salt and sodium bicarbonate. 

Bizarre Food

It is interesting to note that century egg is considered a bizarre food in many parts of the world. I was quite amused by the fuss surrounding this very “old” egg. I saw a few YouTube videos of people trying it for the first time. I knew they were going to gag or throw up because most of them took such huge bites which would obviously be overpowering. Would anyone wolf down an entire piece of blue cheese? No, right? You slice a little piece and smear it thinly on a large biscuit, right? The same principle goes for the century egg.

Washing the egg

The eggs we buy locally used to have rice husks and mud still intact. The eggs come individually wrapped in plastic to prevent the mud and husks from falling everywhere. But I have seen shops selling century eggs pre-washed. I don’t quite trust those initially as I was told that the mud and husks protect the eggs. 

It does make sense to buy pre-washed eggs as it is quite messy removing the husks and mud. I used to scrap the mud off with a butter knife. But it made a mess in the kitchen sink and I worry that the husks might clog up the drain.

I tried rubbing off the mud and husks with my hands while the eggs are still wrapped in plastic. It is less messy. Loosen the plastic a little and then use the thumbs to push the mud away from the shell. Wash off any leftover mud. 

Only remove the shell after it has been thoroughly cleaned. 

Slicing the egg

Slicing the century egg can be a challenge too because the yolk is soft and creamy, and tend to stick to the knife.

Smearing oil on the knife helps. Using dental floss or thread is more effective. Place the egg on the chopping board. Hold the dental floss in both hands and press down on the egg. Continue until you have the chunks you want.  

Having said that, many people still do not like the taste as it can be quite strong. Alex of Justcookit.blogspot.com wrote a controversial post of his first encounter with it. It is quite funny, if you need a good chuckle, head on over.

I have probably acquired a taste for it because I can eat it on its own with just some preserved ginger. I suggest interested newbies try it in very small pieces and never on its own. Eat it with lots of rice congee. (^__^).

Century Egg Porridge

Century egg goes very well with rice congee. Just watch the video below where a guy tries the century egg together with the congee for the very first time. What is his verdict? “Century egg is terrible unless you have it with congee.“

Recipe: Century Egg Congee with dough sticks

This recipe uses rice porridge that has already been cooked. Visit How to Cook Congee if you do not know how to make rice porridge. 

Ingredients

• 2 century eggs
• 225g lean pork
• 8 cups of plain rice porridge
• 1 fried doughstick 油条 (you tiao) (optional)
• 1 tbsp sliced ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped spring onion
• 1 sprig of coriander
• Salt and pepper
• Dash of sesame seed oil

Directions

1. Remove the shell of the egg and cut into small cubes
2. Slice the lean pork thinly
3. Marinate the sliced lean pork with 1 tbsp of salt and a little cornstarch
4. Cut the fried dough into small pieces
5. Heat up the rice porridge in a saucepan
6. Add the egg, lean pork, ginger and the seasonings
7. Cook a further 5 minutes
8. Serve with the fried dough, coriander, and spring onion

Recipe: Pork rice porridge with century egg

I usually use lean pork or ground pork in rice porridge. This recipe uses sliced pork belly which is a bit higher in fat. We must indulge once a while too. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice
• 7 cups of soup stock
• 150g thinly sliced pork belly
• 1 century egg
• 1 piece of fried dough sticks 油条 (you tiao) (optional)
• 1 stalk of spring onion
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil

Marinate for the pork

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes
2. Place rice in a pot and add the soup stock
3. Bring it to a boil and lower heat to a simmer and cook till done
4. Marinate the pork belly and leave to stand for 5 minutes
5. Deshell the century egg and cut into small cubes
6. Wash and chop the spring onions
7. Cut the dough stick into small pieces
8. Add the pork belly to the porridge and cook till done
9. Add the egg, fried dough, salt, pepper and sesame seed oil before serving

Recipe: Spinach and century egg congee

This spinach and century egg congee is good for people with hypertension and has been asked to watch their diet. The amount of water depends on the consistency you want. See cooking porridge for the ratio of water to rice.

Ingredients

• 50g spinach
• 1 century egg
• 50g white rice
• salt

Instructions

1. Prepare the century egg and cut into very small pieces
2. Wash the spinach and chop into bite-sized pieces
3. Wash the rice
4. Place the rice, spinach and century egg int a big pot
5. Add water and bring to a boil
6. Season with a little salt before serving

I usually eat century eggs in rice congee or as a side dish. But it can be used in Chinese soups.

Century Egg Soup

Recipe: Fried century egg soup

Did you know you can fry the century egg and add them to soups?

Ingredients

• 1 century egg
• 1 stalk spring onion
• 300ml soup stock
• Salt and pepper
• Dash of sesame seed oil

Directions

1. Cut the century egg into small cubes
2. Heat a little cooking oil in a sauce pan and lightly fry the century egg cubes
3. Add the soup stock to the sauce pan. The soup should turn white
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Chop the spring onion and sprinkle over the soup
6. Add a dash of sesame seed oil and serve

Recipe: Century Egg soup with Rice Vermicelli

Rice vermicelli is made from rice and look like angel hair pasta. It can be fried or in soup. It is much easier to throw into soup, IMHO.  : – ) 

Ingredients

• 1 century egg
• 50g fresh scallops
• 3 shallots
• 5 leaves of napa cabbage
• 1 portion of dried bee hoon
• 500ml soup stock
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt and pepper
• Dash of sesame seed oil

Directions

1. De-shell the century egg and cut into small cubes
2. Peel the shallots and slice
3. Wash the napa cabbage and cut cross-wise into 1 inch pieces
4. Heat a little cooking oil in a small soup pot and lightly fry the shallots and century egg cubes
5. Add the soup stock to the pot
6. The soup should turn white
7. Add the dried bee hoon (there is no need to soften the bee hoon with water first)
8. Add salt and pepper to taste
9. Add a dash of sesame seed oil before serving

Recipe: Chinese spinach soup with century egg and goji berries

The third recipe is a popular soup sold in many Chinese restaurants in Singapore. The soup usually contains salted egg and fresh chicken egg but this recipe only has century egg.

Ingredients

• 600ml chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 5g goji berries
• 8 dried Chinese red dates
• 300g Chinese spinach
• 1 century egg
• Potato flour slurry (1 tbsp potato flour mixed with 3 tbsp chicken stock)

Directions

1. Put the 600ml chicken stock into a medium pot together with the salt, goji berries and red dates and bring to a boil
2. Remove the roots and tough stems from the Chinese spinach
3. Add the Chinese spinach into the soup stock and cook until the spinach is soft and has shrunk
4. Deshell the century egg and cut into small pieces
5. Add the century egg and mix well
6. Thicken the soup with the potato flour mixture