One morning in Hanoi, one of my Vietnamese colleagues took me and another colleague out to Hoan Kiem Lake in search for something very... well, I'm not sure if "special" is the right word. Something very unique.
We had been talking about strange food, and the topic of balut came up. According to Wikipedia, balut is "a fertilized developing egg embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell".
- (Balut (food) - Wikipedia, 2022).
Now, I've been to a lot of different places, and I've tried a lot of different food. My philosophy is usually that one shouldn't shun any local dish until they've actually tasted it. After all, how will you know that you don't like something until you've eaten it? I'll usually try anything once (so long as it's safe).
No joke, though, this was genuinely the first thing that's actually turned my stomach. Even when we sat down on the tiny plastic stools on the side of the road, I was not sure whether I would be able to force myself to taste this "delicacy".
My Vietnamese colleague really wanted us to try this dish, known in Vietnamese as Trứng vịt lộn. Jenn ordered one serving of balut, which arrived quickly.
So there are two types of balut. There's the infamous 21-day balut, in which you can see the nearly fully-developed duck. Then there's 14-day balut. You can definitely tell there's something funky about the egg, but if you don't look too closely, you won't be able to make out any details. Fortunately, our balut was of the 14-day variety.
It was still gross, though...
However, I'm a man of my word. I said I'd taste it, and I would have been disappointed with myself if I didn't. I couldn't bring myself to eat the actual duck, though, so I just took a tiny portion of the boiled egg white. Honestly, it barely had any flavor at all. It just tasted like a boiled egg.
The egg was served in a broth made of ginger and other herbs, and I have to admit, the broth and the egg was pretty good. However, I'm not sure I'd order it again. I had my portion, then ordered a bia hoi (a local Vietnamese draft beer served over ice on the side of the road). I let the girls finish the balut, and I enjoyed my beer. Win/win, right?
Still, a super fun experience! It's definitely something I'll never forget.
You are braver than I am! I would not have been able to try it!
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I certainly wouldn't order it again! Taste-wise, though, it was just a boiled egg... although I only had part of the egg white. I think I'll stick with the bia hoi (cheap local draft beer).
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