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Itlog Na Maalat: Salted Duck Egg

  • Blanca Valbuena
  • April 3, 2011

Filipino Salted Duck EggOne of the most interesting things I tried during my trip to the Philippines was the red salted duck egg. You can get these almost anywhere; from street vendors to high end restaurants. Upon first glance these colorful eggs brought up memories of Easter with Greek relatives. These are simple chicken eggs that are dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ.

Nothing like this with Itlog Na Maalat. I asked as to the procedure of making these eggs and was told that the eggs are buried in a salt (or salt and clay) mixture from 15 to 30 days in a clay pot.  When they are salty enough (could not get a more specific answer to this) you boil them for about 5 minutes.

Itlog Na Maalat: Salted Duck EggWhat do they taste like? The white is quite salty. The yolk is somewhere in between a hardboiled and a soft boiled egg in texture. The color of the yolk is much darker than expected. I was not completely in love with the consistency or flavor; but perhaps this is an acquired taste thing, definitely better than Balut (once in a lifetime, I don’t think I will ever try that again).

I was also told that I could chop up the salted egg and mix it with chopped tomatoes for a salad. I can see how this would make a nice combination; the freshness of the tomatoes with the saltiness of the egg would make for a nice contrast. Sadly, I did not get a chance to try it.

Why are they red? I was told this is just so you can tell them apart from regular eggs. Simple enough.

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