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| Balut - a boiled, fertilized duck egg; a popular food in parts of Southeast Asia |
theBALUT STORY
by Kong from theKONGBLOG™
Once upon a time...
...when I was a wee toddler, my Mom use to take to the lesser-known parts of Chinatown in New York — in search of balut; a fertilized duck embryo.
"Ew, gross and disgusting" are the most popular words that come to mind after its description and yet, balut is one of the most popular delicacy in the Philippines and Vietnam.
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| Maggi - Seasoning Sauce |
Although I have just a few fragments of my childhood memories left in my brain cells, I do recall my Mom purchasing these "jumbo-looking" eggs at the more culturally exotic Asian markets in Chinatown.
I also do recall us being giddy during our train ride home to Brooklyn.
The same type of feelings families get when they all go shopping together, picking-out and returning home with their brand "new" television — it was a special event.
Upon arriving home, my Mom would bust-out a specialized steaming pot w/ 3 layers. I'd watch her put the eggs into the pot and we'd all wait in anticipation while the tasty bad boys were being steamed.
In the meantime, my Mom brought-out two small sauce plates for the salt & pepper and a bottle of Maggi.
~The End~
For those inquiring, here is how we would eat the balut:
Instruction No.1 Instruction No. 2
1) Crack open the bottom (round part) of the egg w/ a spoon or tap against the plate or table
2) Drink the savory broth-like juice
3) Add salt/pepper to your liking
4) Use spoon to scoop-out the delectable insides of duck embryo
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| "Bon appetite!" |
Or better yet, watch professional balut eater: Zac Efron w/ an "exclusive" demonstration in the following video:
Zac Efron is a teen heartthrob who melts women's hearts but he may have turned fans' stomachs on late night TV when he ate a duck fetus from an egg.
A pal videotaped the Hollywood hunk as he guzzled & slurped down a delicacy known as "balut" during a trip to a volcano in the Philippines.
He played that home video during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and evidently revealed he actually liked the broth-like snack.
"There was a fully-formed little bird in the egg...it wasn't that bad... ...I ate, like, three more that day... ....there was, like, a hard part with, like, the beak and stuff. I didn't want to eat that."
For the uninitiated, balut is a duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is believed to be an aphrodisiac and is a national food for South East Asian people — Thailand, Vietnam & Philippines.
