November 29, 2008
Red egg
Tomato and red egg: a simple and perfect accompaniment to my lechon kawali lunch. Until very recently, this small red tomato was about the only tomato variety available in our markets, and we use it both for cooking and for salads. Itlog na pula (red egg) or itlog na maalat (salty egg) is salted duck egg. Raw eggs are coated in a salt-soil-water mixture, stored for more than two weeks, washed, then hard-boiled. They are usually dipped in red food coloring to distinguish them from regular chicken eggs in grocery shelves and markets. At home, I usually chop the tomatoes and eggs and mix them together to form a salad. I love it with a big, fat, de-boned tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish).
That has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever heard of!! Why would you cover an egg in soil and salt?! What does it taste like?
ReplyDeleteI've heard of something like this before from Asia, with a name like Century Egg. I think this is something you need to grow up with, unless you are a very adventurous adult eater! Thanks for showing us your version.
ReplyDeleteIt does sound weird - as Marley said it's not something we've come across in the UK. I'd like to try it though :)
ReplyDeleteHımm, is very delicious it seems. Bon appetit. Greetings.
ReplyDeleteI have seen these eggs a lot in my travels but never eaten one. They do look wonderful with those tomatoes I must say!!!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your kind wishes on my blog Hilda.
is it really delicious ? I am curious.....
ReplyDeleteHmm. I wonder what I would think of them if I had seen them in a supermarket and didn't know what they were.
ReplyDeleteYou have such interesting food, so different from what I have. So those eggs are tasty??
ReplyDeleteMy wife won't eat anything red (although she'll have a little tomato) and we stopped adding salt to food some years ago - love eggs though.
ReplyDeleteHere in Leyte, we put the duck eggs in a big bottle, cover with salt, cover the bottle, and bury it under the ground for months (i think 3-6). That's our red/salted eggs. I am always careful where I buy my salted/red eggs, sometimes they can be rotten and could poison you. I prefer to cook simple hard boiled duck eggs, cube them, add red tomatoes, chopped onions, sprinkle with salt and lime juice. That's how you prepare them and get almost the same taste as the original. Substitute chicken egg if you can't find duck eggs. Still almost the same.. (sorry Hilda, couldn't resist giving advice when it comes to food! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, looks and sounds interesting. I'd like to taste it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't acquired the taste for this itlog na maalat, as well as the other salty foods like daing etc.
ReplyDeleteBut it does look appetizing when prepared with tomatoes and onions. Yum ( I imagine).
Nver had a duck egg, but toms I love. Very colourful image.
ReplyDeleteI am on a diet but this sounds very interesting! I have a lot of Filipino friends and when I go to the many parties that they have ( they have lots of parties) I get to eat very unusual tasty meals never know what it is but they are delish : )
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog Hilda!
Yes, I love that combo! Tinapang
ReplyDeletebangus is not easy to find here, there used to be a 'manong' selling some for 5 euros each! So you could imagine how happy I eat bangus with much gusto! :D Kaso nawala n yung manong di ko nakikita, dati nasa mall yon..
:D Thanks for the meal!
It sounds delicious to me!
ReplyDeleteMarley:
ReplyDeleteSalt is a natural preservative and the mud, well, just think of it as a binder to keep the salt around the egg. You can use something else, but in most farms here that's the most practical and the least expensive.
It just tastes like very salty egg, but the texture's different from regular hard-boiled eggs. It's both creamier and more powdery — I know that doesn't quite make sense, but it's the only description I can think of.
I can assure you that there's really nothing weird about this one. Oh, and you don't eat the shell! ;D
It seems all new to me, yet, familiar, too. Hard boiled eggs and chopped tomatoes in a salad are common. They're not usually duck eggs, or salted, but I'm sure the idea is the same. Salt is good for tomatoes, so mixing the salty egg with the tomato would be good.
ReplyDeletewow! you should have included the lechon kawali in the photo. but it will just make me hungry. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite Pinoy meals.
ReplyDeleteI'm of Chinese descent so I grew up eating "thousand year eggs".
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother loved salted eggs. It goes very nicely with rice porridge.
Very interesting. I was scrolling down looking through all your lovely pictures and skimming your interesting posts. This one probably caught my eye because I am late for my lunch! LOL! mmmm!
ReplyDelete