After the big Thanksgiving feast, I haven’t had much room for indulging as of late, so today I am going to write about a way back throw back to last summer in the Philippines. Last July, I visited the little Filipino island of Boracay and before setting off into the sun, I naturally did a little bit of research as to what the local delicacies were, all of each I tried (this is a hop, skip and a jump away from nonna’s kitchen!): Banana Que: deep fried bananas with caramelized sugar; Bituka: the intestines of a manok (chicken); Buko juice: coconut juice that can be drank directly from the buko itself; Fishballs: minced fish rolled into balls. They are fried and put in skewers and dipped in either a sour, spicy or sweet dip; Kwek kwek: a chicken egg dipped in an orangey batter which is deep fried. A dip made of vinegar, onions and birds eye chili is recommended when eating. And last, but not least, the ever famous balut: a 17 day old duck’s embryo still in a shell. They say this is the best way to introduce foreigners to the Philippines. Kind of like a hotdog to an American.
Well, one sunny afternoon, after a few cocktails under the palm trees, I heard a little voice calling out “BAAAA-LUT!” I looked over my shoulder to see a little man walking by with his cooler. Excitement and nervousness came over me as I jumped up to chase down the man. Balut. The Filipino delicacy. I ordered one. It looked just like your ordinary hardboiled egg. He gave it a light tap on the side of his cooler to discover a little head nestled into the shell. The man prepared it ever so tenderly for me with red wine vinegar and sea salt. I looked up at my friend, who was looking at me, half in terror, half in amusement. One, two, three, and down it went like an oyster.
You see, there is a certain technique to eating a balut:
1. Crack the egg around the top by gently tapping a spoon against the shell. Remove the top of the shell once you have traveled all the way around the egg. Make sure to discard any bits of shell which fell into the balut.
2. Add a dash of red wine vinegar, a dash of chili sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt. (Don't go overboard on the salt because the chili sauce will have sodium in it as well.) The combination of the chili sauce and the vinegar will provide a spicy sweet flavor.
3. Drink the broth from the surrounding duck embryo. It is customary to drink the broth before ingesting the embryo.
4. Throw back the rest of the balut as if you were taking a shot. Once the duck embryo has been boiled, the bones become soft. So there's not need to worry about crunching on anything.
5. Drink any residual broth that was in the shell and then discard.
So, just like that, it was done. And it wasn't so bad! In fact, it was a tasty little treat. Though for a few months after the occasion, whenever I ate a hardboiled egg, the tastes of red wine vinegar and sea salt came rushing back to my taste buds.
Well, one sunny afternoon, after a few cocktails under the palm trees, I heard a little voice calling out “BAAAA-LUT!” I looked over my shoulder to see a little man walking by with his cooler. Excitement and nervousness came over me as I jumped up to chase down the man. Balut. The Filipino delicacy. I ordered one. It looked just like your ordinary hardboiled egg. He gave it a light tap on the side of his cooler to discover a little head nestled into the shell. The man prepared it ever so tenderly for me with red wine vinegar and sea salt. I looked up at my friend, who was looking at me, half in terror, half in amusement. One, two, three, and down it went like an oyster.
You see, there is a certain technique to eating a balut:
1. Crack the egg around the top by gently tapping a spoon against the shell. Remove the top of the shell once you have traveled all the way around the egg. Make sure to discard any bits of shell which fell into the balut.
2. Add a dash of red wine vinegar, a dash of chili sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt. (Don't go overboard on the salt because the chili sauce will have sodium in it as well.) The combination of the chili sauce and the vinegar will provide a spicy sweet flavor.
3. Drink the broth from the surrounding duck embryo. It is customary to drink the broth before ingesting the embryo.
4. Throw back the rest of the balut as if you were taking a shot. Once the duck embryo has been boiled, the bones become soft. So there's not need to worry about crunching on anything.
5. Drink any residual broth that was in the shell and then discard.
So, just like that, it was done. And it wasn't so bad! In fact, it was a tasty little treat. Though for a few months after the occasion, whenever I ate a hardboiled egg, the tastes of red wine vinegar and sea salt came rushing back to my taste buds.
Bottoms up!
(Oh, if you're not planning a trip anytime in the near future to the Philippines but are curious to know more about this little Filipino delight, check out this YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLMIXLv4D-s )
(Oh, if you're not planning a trip anytime in the near future to the Philippines but are curious to know more about this little Filipino delight, check out this YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLMIXLv4D-s )