While we were vacationing in Lake Tahoe, my friend and I kept in close touch via Facebook. Vic is from
Tuguegarao just like me , and she has seen much of the world. During her many forays into varied cultures, she has tried and
and tested a variety of foods. This makes her a connoisseur of sorts in my book. Anyway, she was telling me she was heading to the
grocery store and while there, she will make time for some crunchy balut. Well, that was enough to intrigue me. First off, I am the
only one in my family who can’t eat balut. As a child, I remember the musical pandesaaaaal, tubaaaaa, “baluuuuuut” bellowed by the vendors.
We used to travel nearly 20 hours to get to Manila from the valleys of Cagayan. And those trips were always punctuated with the
yummy stops to enjoy morsels from street vendors. I remember the smell of fresh hot pandesal, and most unforgettable, balut.
I remember the vendor had her basket draped with a cloth. and it was late then, so it was pretty dark. Papa bought a few and
gave each of us our own egg while Mommy gave us instructions on how to eat the so called treat. First, peel the shell ever so
carefully so as not to spill the soup. My siblings and I sprinkled a little salt and we all proceeded to slurp soup. It was yummy, just
like chicken soup. Next, we were told to drop the contents of the partially peeled egg into our mouth. Everyone proceeded to do
that and were obviously enjoying the mouthful of goods. Just when I was about to pop my “egg” into my mouth, a car drove past and
its light illuminated my area just right. Yup, just right so I could see clearly what everyone was enjoying !!! OMG, my exact words
were, “ano yaaaan?!!!” My pitch a few octaves higher. I was mortified. The black hair like feathers, the huge eyelids, and oh my
goodness, the BEAK!!! I freaked. I could not and would not pop that thing in my mouth, no way. Basta ayaw ko!!! Everyone else had
already enjoyed their morsel and I refused. To this very day, I can not and will not eat balut. Many of my countrymen
might find this very un-Pinoy of me. But take look…
This is of course, RAW.
Oh, now there is another version to this balut….My friend Vic told me about it…She even took photos for me. And with the dipping
sauces, I think it would be good. Unfortunately after I saw in great detail the real deal , there is just no way I could eat beak or hair or
bulging eyes!! Can you?
I have eaten hard boiled quail eggs, encased in batter, deep fried and dipped in vinegar sauce, and boy that is superb. The innards are
your standard whites while and yellow yoke, simply yellow and nothing more, unlike BALUT…
Here is more info on balut…
A balut is a fertilized duck embryo that’s boiled alive and eaten in the shell. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. It is commonly sold as streetfood in thePhilippines. They are common, everyday food in countries in Southeast Asia, such as Laos,Cambodia (pong tea khon ពងទាកូន in Cambodian) and Vietnam (trứng vịt lộn or hột vịt lộn inVietnamese). They are often served with beer.
The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means “wrapped” – depending on pronunciation.
Preparation
In the Philippines, balut eaters prefer salt and/or a chili, garlic and vinegar (white or coconut sap) mixture to season their eggs. The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors; the broth surrounding the embryo is sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled, and the yolk and young chick inside can be eaten. All of the contents of the egg may be consumed, although the white may remain uneaten; depending on the age of the fertilized egg, the white may have an unappetizing cartilaginous toughness. In the Philippines, balut have recently entered haute cuisine by being served as appetizers in restaurants, cooked adobo style, fried in omelettes or even used as filling in baked pastries. In Vietnam, balut are eaten with a pinch of salt, lemon juice, plus ground pepper and Vietnamese mint leaves (southern Vietnamese style). In Cambodia, balut are eaten while still warm in the shell and are served with nothing more than a little garnish, which is usually a mixture of lime juice and ground pepper.
Anyway, here are some pictures my friend, Vic took for me when she went to the grocery store in Manila…Thanks, dahlin’!!
BTW, those whole fried chicks are for real. They are day old chicks!!! 6 pieces for just over a buck. Wacked!
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I was just back in the hottest, most humid part of the Philippines about a month ago. It gets so hot there in the valleys of Cagayan, you could cook an egg on the asphalt! Anyway, while in the place of my youth, we enjoyed the usual Tuguegarao specialties. Longganisa, the varieties of pansit,(will post about this soon, thanks to my godbrother, Erick Padilla) zinagan and of course, SINANTA! Some of you might remember I posted photos of many dishes we consumed, oy so masarap po!(So very yummy!) Anyway, I did not have the recipes for most at that time. Well, I have finally received a couple of them so here is the first of many that I will be sharing. With some luck, I shall be trying them as well, and will report the outcomes. If you get to try them soon, please feel free…
Kain Na Po 