A duck egg cured in an alkaline pack until the white sets to a translucent amber jelly and the yolk turns dark green and creamy. The Ming-dynasty Hunan method used slaked lime, ash, salt and tea, and the alkali — not age — is what transforms it.
The cure depends on holding a strongly caustic alkali at a controlled concentration for weeks — slaked lime burns skin and eyes, and an underdone egg is a raw egg that has been sitting at room temperature for a month.
What goes into it
- duck eggs
- slaked lime or sodium carbonate
- wood ash
- salt
- strong tea
- rice husks and clay for coating
How it is made
The eggs are coated in a paste of alkali, salt, ash and tea, rolled in rice husks and packed away for weeks to months. The alkali passes through the shell and raises the pH inside above 9, which denatures the proteins without heat, sets the white to jelly and drives the Maillard reactions that darken it. Getting the alkalinity wrong ruins the egg or leaves it unsafe.
How long it takes: seven weeks to five months
How it is eaten
Quartered with pickled ginger, chopped into congee, or with cold tofu and soy.
History
A Ming-dynasty Hunan preservation method cured eggs in slaked lime, ash, salt and tea; the alkaline cure sets the white into amber jelly.
Frequently asked questions
What is Century Egg?
Century Egg is a fermented & pickled from China: duck egg cured in alkaline clay until the yolk turns dark green and creamy. A Ming-dynasty Hunan preservation method cured eggs in slaked lime, ash, salt and tea; the alkaline cure sets the white into amber jelly.
How is Century Egg made?
The eggs are coated in a paste of alkali, salt, ash and tea, rolled in rice husks and packed away for weeks to months. The alkali passes through the shell and raises the pH inside above 9, which denatures the proteins without heat, sets the white to jelly and drives the Maillard reactions that darken it. Getting the alkalinity wrong ruins the egg or leaves it unsafe. It takes seven weeks to five months.
Can I make Century Egg at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The cure depends on holding a strongly caustic alkali at a controlled concentration for weeks — slaked lime burns skin and eyes, and an underdone egg is a raw egg that has been sitting at room temperature for a month.
What goes into Century Egg?
Duck eggs, slaked lime or sodium carbonate, wood ash, salt, strong tea, rice husks and clay for coating.
How is Century Egg eaten?
Quartered with pickled ginger, chopped into congee, or with cold tofu and soy.
