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Chinese Name: 皮蛋
English Name: Century egg; Preserved egg
Category: Snack小吃
Main Ingredients: Duck egg
Century egg皮蛋, also known as pine eggs松花蛋, broken eggs变蛋, etc., is a kind of egg processing food invented by the Chinese Han people. It is an exceptional food in China, with a special flavor, and can promote appetite.
The principle of century egg production is: the use of eggs in an alkaline solution, can make protein gel properties so that it becomes a flexible solid. However, if the formula of the century egg is not well controlled, the protein will be hydrolyzed in the alkaline solution, and the protein will turn into protein, so it is not edible. Cracked shells or poorly controlled recipes can also allow hydrogen sulfide to spill out of the eggs, turning them golden. The normal century egg is dark green and elastic with pine flowers.
Legend has it that during the Taichang period of the Ming Dynasty明代, there was a small teahouse in Wujiang County, Jiangsu Province. The owner will do business, so business is brisk. Due to the lack of manpower, the owner in the dinner guests, readily will bubble tea poured in the ashes. Coincidentally, the owner also kept several ducks, who liked to lay their eggs in the ashes. When the master picks up eggs, it is hard to avoid omission
Once, when the owner of the shop was removing the tea leaves from the ashes, he found so many duck eggs that he thought they could not be eaten. Who knows to peel open a look, inside is dark and bright, there are white patterns on the top, smell, a special smell and come; Have a taste. It’s nice and smooth. This is the original century egg. Later, after continuous exploration and improvement, the production process of century egg was perfected day by day.
According to historical records such as Annals of The Three Kingdoms三国志 and Annals of Santai County三台县志 of the Republic of China, in 211 AD, in the 16th year of Jian ‘an by Emperor Xian献帝 of the Eastern Han Dynasty东汉, Liu Bei刘备 led Pang Tong庞统, Huang Zhong黄忠, Wei Yan魏延 and tens of thousands of soldiers to travel up the Yangtze River from Jingzhou to Fushui via Hechuan and Fushui to meet Liu Zhang刘璋, the governor of Yizhou, at Fule Mountain富乐山. Later, they set up camp at Fucheng Dam (modern Huayuan Town).
According to legend, Liu Bei’s army was hit by a flood, and two-thirtieth of his army was damaged. Then dysentery broke out in the army. Liu Bei wielded the White Dragon sword and begged God for protection. Zhang Fei ordered digging anise, hexagonal Wells to take water detoxification; Pang Tong went down the mountain to ask for herbal medicine. He visited farmers around the five-layer Temple and learned that there was a tradition of homemade preserved eggs. He then asked farmers for preserved eggs. Because it is alkaline, it can relieve lung heat, fire in the large intestine, diarrhea in the army, settle the heart of the army, and build prestige.
Finished egg, shell easy to peel non-stick; The protein is translucent brown coagulated body, the surface of the protein has a pine pattern; The yolk is dark green and solid, and some have a runny heart. When cut, the egg pieces are colorful. The food is cool and refreshing, fragrant but not greasy, delicious taste. The quality classification of the egg is the last important process of the manufacturer, which should be carried out in accordance with the relevant national regulations. When consumers buy goods, they also choose.
The commonly used methods for quality inspection of Songhua egg are: first view, second balance, third shake and fourth light. First view: check whether the package material is moldy, whether the eggshell is complete, and whether the shell color is normal (the green jar color is preferred). Second weighing: put the egg in your hand, gently throw it up, and throw it several times. If you feel elastic and quivering, and the heavier one is a good egg, otherwise it is a bad egg.
Three shakes: Hold the two ends of the egg with your thumb and middle finger, shake it up, down, left and right around your ear, and listen to the sound of water or impact. If you can’t hear the sound, it’s a good egg. Four lights: Perspective with light. If most of the eggs are black or dark brown, and a small part is yellow or light red, it is a high-quality egg. If most of them are yellowish brown transparent, they are immature eggs.
How to make Century egg?
Many people like to eat century egg lean porridge, but it is ok to eat less of this food, but eating more of it will have bad effects on health. Century eggs are pickled by wrapping duck eggs in a mixture of soda ash, lime, salt, and lead oxide. They contain lead, which can cause lead poisoning if eaten regularly. This can lead to insomnia, inability to concentrate, anemia, joint pain, slow thinking and impaired brain function. In addition, lead will replace calcium, affect calcium intake, may cause calcium deficiency.
Ingredients：
- 150 g of rice
- 100g pork tenderloin
- Two century eggs
- 2 chives
- 1 small piece of ginger
- A spoonful of cooking wine
- A tablespoon of light soy sauce
- Salt in moderation
- Moderate amount of chicken essence
- Right amount of sesame oil
- A moderate amount of starch
Instruction:
- Step 1, Wash and drain the rice, add sesame oil, stir well, set aside and soak for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Step 2, Wash and chop the chives, peel and shred the ginger.
- Step 3, Peel the preserved egg, wash it and cut it into small pieces.
- Step 4, First pour the rice soaked in sesame oil into the pot, then pour in water, and finally pour in ginger. After boiling on high fire, change to low heat and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the same direction with a spoon every 5 minutes to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Step 5, Cut the tenderloin into slices first, then shred, put into a bowl, add cooking wine, light soy sauce, salt, sprinkled with cornflour marinating stir marinating for about 10 minutes.
- Step 6, When the porridge is completely cooked and the porridge water is thick, add the century egg and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Then pour the marinated pork fillet into the porridge.After adding salt and chicken essence, stir continuously with a spoon.Finally, pour in sesame oil and stir. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.
