A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.
Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines. They are common, everyday food in some other countries in Southeast Asia, such as in Laos and Thailand (where it is called Khai Luk), Cambodia (Pong tea khon in Cambodian), and Vietnam (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese). They are often served with beer.
The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation.
Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, balut are mostly sold by street vendors in the regions where they are available. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the Philippines. They are common, everyday food in some other countries in Southeast Asia, such as in Laos and Thailand (where it is called Khai Luk), Cambodia (Pong tea khon in Cambodian), and Vietnam (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese). They are often served with beer.
The Filipino and Malay word balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on pronunciation.
In the Philippines, balut eaters prefer salt and/or a chili and vinegar mixture to season their egg. The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors; the broth surrounding the embryo is sipped from the egg before the shell is peeled, and the yolk and young chick inside can be eaten. All of the contents of the egg may be consumed, although the white may remain uneaten: Depending on the age of the fertilized egg, the white may have an unappetizing cartilaginous toughness. In the Philippines, balut have recently entered haute cuisine by being served as appetizers in restaurants: cooked adobo style, fried in omelettes or even used as filling in baked pastries. In Vietnam, balut are eaten with a pinch of salt, lemon juice, plus ground pepper and Vietnamese Coriander leaves (Southern Vietnamese style).
A similar preparation is known in China as Maodan (Chinese: 毛蛋; pinyin: Máo Dàn; literally "feathered egg"), Wangjidan (Chinese: 旺鸡蛋; pinyin: Wàng Jīdàn; literally "flush egg") or Huozhuzi (Chinese: 活珠子; pinyin: Huózhūzi; literally "living bead"). Chinese traders and migrants are said to have brought the idea of eating fertilized duck eggs to the Philippines. However, the knowledge and craft of balut-making has been localized by the balut-makers (magbabalut). Today, balut production has not been mechanized in favor of the traditional production by hand. Although balut are produced throughout the Philippines, balut-makers in Pateros are renowned for their careful selection and incubation of the eggs.
Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten. Vendors sell cooked balut out of buckets of sand (used to retain warmth) accompanied by small packets of salt. Uncooked balut are rarely sold in Southeast Asia. In the United States, Asian markets occasionally carry uncooked balut eggs. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are eaten while still warm.
Duck eggs that are not properly developed after nine to twelve days are sold as penoy, which look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In Filipino cuisine, these are occasionally beaten and fried, similar to scrambled eggs, and served with a vinegar dip.
The age of the egg before it can be cooked is a matter of local preference. In the Philippines, the ideal balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be balut sa puti ("wrapped in white"). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws and the bones are undeveloped. The Vietnamese often prefer their balut mature from 19 days up to 21 days, when the chick is old enough to be recognizable as a baby duck and has bones that will be firm but tender when cooked. In Cambodia, it is eaten while it is still warm in its shell. It is served with nothing more than a little garnish, which is usually a mixture of lime juice and ground pepper.
A similar preparation is known in China as Maodan (Chinese: 毛蛋; pinyin: Máo Dàn; literally "feathered egg"), Wangjidan (Chinese: 旺鸡蛋; pinyin: Wàng Jīdàn; literally "flush egg") or Huozhuzi (Chinese: 活珠子; pinyin: Huózhūzi; literally "living bead"). Chinese traders and migrants are said to have brought the idea of eating fertilized duck eggs to the Philippines. However, the knowledge and craft of balut-making has been localized by the balut-makers (magbabalut). Today, balut production has not been mechanized in favor of the traditional production by hand. Although balut are produced throughout the Philippines, balut-makers in Pateros are renowned for their careful selection and incubation of the eggs.
Fertilized duck eggs are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside. Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold, and eaten. Vendors sell cooked balut out of buckets of sand (used to retain warmth) accompanied by small packets of salt. Uncooked balut are rarely sold in Southeast Asia. In the United States, Asian markets occasionally carry uncooked balut eggs. The cooking process is identical to that of hard-boiled chicken eggs, and baluts are eaten while still warm.
Duck eggs that are not properly developed after nine to twelve days are sold as penoy, which look, smell and taste similar to a regular hard-boiled egg. In Filipino cuisine, these are occasionally beaten and fried, similar to scrambled eggs, and served with a vinegar dip.
The age of the egg before it can be cooked is a matter of local preference. In the Philippines, the ideal balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be balut sa puti ("wrapped in white"). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws and the bones are undeveloped. The Vietnamese often prefer their balut mature from 19 days up to 21 days, when the chick is old enough to be recognizable as a baby duck and has bones that will be firm but tender when cooked. In Cambodia, it is eaten while it is still warm in its shell. It is served with nothing more than a little garnish, which is usually a mixture of lime juice and ground pepper.
Balut has been the "shocking" topic of some television shows because of its taboo nature in some Western cultures.
In the 2004 episode of Taboo entitled "Extreme Cuisine", balut is the opening segment. In two episodes of Survivor: Palau and two episodes of Survivor: China, separate challenges featured attempts to eat this delicacy. Similarly, Fear Factor frequently used balut as a means of disgusting contestants.
Contestants of The Amazing Race Asia 2 had to eat 8 baluts as a team before receiving their next clue.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir featured balut eaten by several contestants after its introduction by a Filipino-American fighter Phillipe Nover. The Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern also featured balut, where the host pronounced 18-day-old balut one of the strangest foods he'd ever eaten in his life, but far better tasting than he had expected. Zane Lamprey, on his show Three Sheets, attempts to eat balut, but in the end, cannot bring himself to do so.
The members of the rock band Switchfoot ate balut on stage at their concert in the Philippines. Mykel and Ruth Hawke ate a wild harvested version of balut on their Discovery Channel show Man, Woman, Wild. In Madventures the travellers Riku Rantala and Tuomas Milonoff ate balut in their Philippines episode and khai luk in Laos. Milonoff vomited both onscreen, Rantala told he enjoyed balut as a drinking snack and hangover cure.
In An Idiot Abroad, fish-out-of-water presenter Karl Pilkington is shocked when he is told that the unusual-looking boiled egg his Chinese coach driver is eating is "a foetus".
In the Around The World #1 episode of Deal or No Deal, Balut was also featured, much to the disgust of host Howie Mandel, who calls it "duck embryo."
In the 2004 episode of Taboo entitled "Extreme Cuisine", balut is the opening segment. In two episodes of Survivor: Palau and two episodes of Survivor: China, separate challenges featured attempts to eat this delicacy. Similarly, Fear Factor frequently used balut as a means of disgusting contestants.
Contestants of The Amazing Race Asia 2 had to eat 8 baluts as a team before receiving their next clue.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir featured balut eaten by several contestants after its introduction by a Filipino-American fighter Phillipe Nover. The Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern also featured balut, where the host pronounced 18-day-old balut one of the strangest foods he'd ever eaten in his life, but far better tasting than he had expected. Zane Lamprey, on his show Three Sheets, attempts to eat balut, but in the end, cannot bring himself to do so.
The members of the rock band Switchfoot ate balut on stage at their concert in the Philippines. Mykel and Ruth Hawke ate a wild harvested version of balut on their Discovery Channel show Man, Woman, Wild. In Madventures the travellers Riku Rantala and Tuomas Milonoff ate balut in their Philippines episode and khai luk in Laos. Milonoff vomited both onscreen, Rantala told he enjoyed balut as a drinking snack and hangover cure.
In An Idiot Abroad, fish-out-of-water presenter Karl Pilkington is shocked when he is told that the unusual-looking boiled egg his Chinese coach driver is eating is "a foetus".
In the Around The World #1 episode of Deal or No Deal, Balut was also featured, much to the disgust of host Howie Mandel, who calls it "duck embryo."
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-balut.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29
