Food Challenge#1: All time Filipino Favorite 'Aphrodisiac' Street Food "Balut" (Fertilized Duck Egg)

"Do you think you can handle eating Balut?"

(Representing, Balut, Philippines!)

What is Balut?
It is a very famous exotic street food here in the Philippines, you can find many food stalls that sell it, anywhere.

Balut is a boiled, fertilized duck egg with an undeveloped embryo, usually eaten with salt and vinegar. It is considered a delicacy in Asia, especially in the Philippines, where it is popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack.

Brief History

Balut-making is not native to the Philippines and it is hard to determine its origin, but Margaret Magat points out in her article, Balut: "Fertilized Duck Eggs and Their Role in Filipino Culture", traces of influence the Chinese brought to the Philippine culture and food:

“The influence of the Chinese may perhaps explain the presence of balut in the country. Many books on Chinese food tend to mention salted duck eggs, tea eggs and century-old duck eggs, but a sprinkling of words do mention fertilized duck eggs.”

Despite the fact that migrants brought the idea of eating fertilized duck eggs to the Philippines, Filipinos, somehow adopted this practice and learned how to traditionally produce local Balut by hand, carefully selecting and incubating the duck eggs until ready to sell.

Why do most Filipinos love eating Balut?

(Just look at that happy face while eating!)

It taste better than it looks. Some people may be appalled by its appearance. The development of the embryo will depend on how many days the egg is fertilized. If it's 16 days under, its embryo is not yet formed, while 16-22 days, its embryo is undeveloped, and in over 22 days, the embryo will be partially developed with little feathers, beak and feet.

Others may feel discomfort in their stomach upon seeing the embryo, but it actually taste better than it looks. (If its your first time, I recommend 16-18 days as the embryo is soft.)

As for me, 18 days is the best and I like it with salt and vinegar, and chili (of course), the spiciness will remove the unnecessary yucky-eeky feeling when sucking the embryo, while the salt and vinegar will enhance its flavor (I'm actually drooling just imagining it). Whichever you like it with, maybe a little bit sour or salty, or like the balance of sourness and saltiness, or level 5 spiciness, or just the balut itself, your choice.

Cheap source of Protein. Balut costs only 16Php (0.32USD) and contains considerable amount of protein (14g) than chicken egg (6g).

Potent Aphrodisiac. Balut is popularly known to be an aphrodisiac with claims that it strengthens the knees.

Nutrition summary according to fatsecret.com,
1 egg serving of Balut:

Calories 181
Fat 10g
Carbs 1g
Protein 14g

Calorie breakdown: 60% fat, 3% carbs, 37% protein.

Balut new dishes
Because of its popularity in the Philippines, many restaurants incorporate balut to their menus, such as "Adobong Balut" and "Balut Tempura". Recipes here.

Adobong Balut [1] & Balut Tempura [2]

Why it's a must try?

Forget about boiled chicken egg, Balut is the new favorite in town! If you're going to visit the Philippines, you can see how enthusiastic Filipinos are about it. If you're game by the challenge, you might even like it. But if not, then at least you tried.

To those who want to try and have tried it already, tell us your thoughts on the comment section below. Thank you for reading, until next time! :)

Follow me @shairanada for more interesting posts.

References:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/eating-balut-in-the-philippines-1629671
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Balut
https://www.fatsecret.com/Diary.aspx?pa=fjrd&rid=1635334
http://www.philippinecuisine.net/philippine-cuisine-balut-dishes/

Image Sources: 1 & 2