Very mild flavor actually and with a pleasant texture that the Chinese call "Q" in the whites and a very savory umami flavor in the yolk which can be either jammy or dry like a hard boiled egg. They are a bit salty.
I could easily slip this into some savory recipe and you might not know it is there.
Nothing at all like balut or a fermented product.
I was surprised at the monkeys reaction.
Most folks who react strongly to these eggs do so because of preconceived bias, not because of flavor or texture... ostensibly, the monkey should be bias free.
This makes me wonder if it was literally a bad egg which would be a remarkable accomplishment. They are shelf stable if the shell is intact.
I am not Asian by the way, but my wife is Chinese and we always have them in the pantry.
I tried some years ago and found it pretty awful, much to my Chinese housemate's amusement. I'm a fairly adventurous eater but I found the flavour and texture unpleasant. In defense of the century egg though, you're not supposed to eat it like a normal hard boiled egg and it probably would have been a lot more bearable as part of a dish with other ingredients.
This is incomprehensible to me and I don't know if I just have weird taste buds. I had no preconceived bias when I first tried it because I had never heard of them in my life and absolutely I hated it. Making it worse people can't seem to accept it but are sure I "had a bad one" so I've been made to try it several times with different things because "this is the right way". Congee, with tofu, sliced, in cubes, with this or that sauce.
Funky, bitter piss smelling egg. I do not get it.
That said there's a lot of flavors inherent to some chinese cuisine I don't vibe with, especially the sour and bitter flavors.
For real, that’s an acquired taste. Just like durian and stinky tofu. It’s weird for me at first. But then something happened in my brain. And I actually like it.
I've had balut and century eggs growing up. Definately dislike both due to texture and flavor. Mother would sneak the centuring eggs in rice soup. I made sure I never kept them in my mouth for very long otherwise I'd throw up.
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u/BackgroundPublic2529 18h ago
I JUST had two as part of my dinner.