Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Revered and Scorned: Balut and Itik as Gustatory Fare



Half yolk, half duck embryo, carefully aged to seventeen days old and and then cooked in its own savory broth within its own unbroken shell. These are the stuff that gustatory legends are made of. Well, at least one legend, which unfortunately, is not to everyone's liking. This is the one and only Balut, succulent prized poach of the far east, and scourge of western taste buds. Love it or hate it, you'll be surprised that aside from eating the balut, cooked the classic way, simply boiled and consumed with a dash of salt or a sprinkling of spicy vinegar, there are a lot more ways to enjoy this savory delight, all in the fashion of Philippine traditional dishes, like caldereta, afritada, fried crispy, pickled, and the quintessential adobo, and more. The local Philippine Duck or Itik, from which the balut egg was laid, is a delicious meat in itself. In the latest celebration of the Araw ng Pateros, which is the traditional home of balut makers in the Philippines, a culinary feast/competition was held celebrating this celebrated egg and fowl. A culinary delight or a feast for sore eyes, you be the judge.

















see more of AttyMaj's photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/attymaj  (c) all rights reserved.

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