The Filipino egg "with the stench of hell and the taste of heaven"

mike26 (32)in #food • 7 years ago

Pateros is one of the towns that make up Greater Manila, currently the largest metropolitan area in the Philippines. Its name comes from "ducks", since the duck breeding industry is the great engine of its economy.

Precisely a native duck of this area, commonly known as Itik, is used for the laying of eggs of the most famous and controversial product of the country: the Balut.

Every early morning, the street vendors buy the eggs from Pateros to sell them through the streets of Manila. Along with the walkmans (pig's ears), coagulated blood dices and intestines or grilled chicken heads, balut are the flagship product. If a man from Spain challenges you to try a balut, you should know that you are not going to taste a conventional egg.

In view, apparently it looks like an egg for a tortilla or fried egg, but inside it hides a duck embryo developed between 16 and 19 days.

Its tasting ritual is not suitable for sensitive palates. As soon as the shell is broken, a small embryonic liquid bursts outwards. You have to suck all the interior to expose the little duckling folded like a fetus. The image can stop more than one: beak, legs, plumage and membranes are exposed. Add some salt and vinegar before chewing the duck still warm.

Many do not eat the whitest and gelatinous part because it has a very bitter taste, but there is an added value for those who finish with everything: the egg contains a high amount of protein and is popularly considered to have aphrodisiac powers. According to the natives, the balut has the stench of hell, but the taste of heaven.

Despite being a street dish, its popularity has made it the great delicacy of the most exclusive restaurants in the capital. It is curious to see how in the streets you can buy it for about 40 cents and in restaurants in Manila you can get up to 4 euros.

Currently, the balut has caused a clash between generations. While the elders of the place still believe that it is the great symbol of Filipino culinary culture, the more westernized young people have a contradictory feeling. They assume their magic within the Filipino tradition, but feel a certain embarrassment because they are aware that it intimidates or may be unpleasant to the eye. In short, they accept with disgust that it is one of the great images that their country projects abroad.