anyone know how to make chadan?

[terromi]

Hey, does anyone here know how to make chadan, the tea eggs? And also, what's thousand year old egg? How do you make it?

[marcopolo79]

You can find packets with the Chadan mix in Asian groceries (you just boil the eggs in water to which the mix has been added), as for the 1000 year old egg, I'm not sure how they make them now, but rumor has it the traditional method was to soak them in horse urine.

Good Luck!

[skylee]

what's thousand year old egg? How do you make it?

"Thousand year old egg" is called pidan (皮蛋) in Chinese. Here is a recipe found on the internet (attempt at your own risks ) ->

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/chinese/preserved-duck-eggs1.html

[frostybird]

Hi Terromi,

Here's a nice recipe for 'Cha Dan' which can be made at home:

8 eggs

1/4 cup dark soy sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 green onions (smash them up with the back of your knife)

4 to 5 slices ginger, minced

3 tablespoons black tea leaves

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

2 whole star anise

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, then run cool water over them. When they're cool enough to touch, tap them with the back of a spoon until you get small cracks all over the shell. (You should keep the shell on)

2. Put the eggs back in the pot with the other ingredients, simmering them together for at least 45 minutes. Let the eggs cool and refrigerate them for up to 2 days, as little as 45 minutes.

3. Remove the shell and enjoy.

* Don't tap the shell too hard, just enough to let tiny cracks form in the shell. That allows the liquid to get inside.

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Also, I have to mention this while we're talking about Pi Dan--

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Fear Factor is a dreadful show on American television in which people get into bathtubs with scorpions and worms and so on. I don't watch it (because it's dreadful) but it caught my eye one day when I saw a plate of Pi Dan on a pool (billiard) table. The host of the show told one of the contestants that if he couldn't make a very difficult shot he'd have to eat a "thousand-year-old egg." He didn’t mention that it isn’t really a thousand years old, or that many Chinese people find it quite tasty.

The guy missed the shot, and with dramatic music playing he put the whole egg in his mouth and swallowed it down in one gulp while his teammate looked on in disgust. He said "It didn't taste as bad as I thought it would, but it was still pretty bad."

Sigh ... and there I was, thinking that if he would have cut it up, put some soy sauce and a bit of minced ginger on it I would have gladly eaten it for him.

Maybe one day when I feel like an adventure I'll try that recipe, Skylee. Pi Dan are hard to come by here.

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edit: It struck me last night that I was in violation of copyright law with my first post, so I've replaced the cookbook's recipe with my own, slightly different. Sorry, Roddy.

[terromi]

A big thank you to everyone who responded to my post! I'm a big fan of Chinese cooking and would like to learn more about it. Although I've never visited China, someday I would like to go check it out. Especially for the food! I will try the recipes out! Also, I've always wanted to learn how to make porridge. I've only had it once at a friend's house for breakfast, a long time ago. And I remember her mother putting in a thousand year old egg in it. At the time, I thought it really was a thousand years old! Haha. But now I know. Anyway, I remember loving the taste of it. What's a great traditional porridge recipe? I must know how to make it! I love the stuff! Thanks!

[nerveandmuscle]

I don't know where you are in the United States but many chinese grocers carry thousand year old eggs. Back in the old days, they were made with lead so the boxes i now buy from chinatown proudly say "no lead!".

On the topic of eggs, does anyone know of the method to make salty egg with the how long you are suppose to soak the eggs? I really miss the creamy almost oily yolks.

As for porridge, I just put rice with lots of water in a pot and let it simmer for a couple of hours making sure it doesn't boil over. I just eat everything (thousand year old eggs, furry pork, etc) with it. I guess you can try adding the egg towards the end of cooking process and use some chicken stock in place of water when cooking the rice for a savory flavor.

[Claw]

On the topic of eggs, does anyone know of the method to make salty egg with the how long you are suppose to soak the eggs?

It takes about a month. For a dozen eggs, use about 2 liters of water and a cup of salt. Make sure the jar you place the eggs and salt water solution in is airtight. Let it sit for a month at room temperature. After the month is over, you should remove the eggs from the solution and place them in the refrigerator, otherwise they can become too salty to eat.

[chefintheprc]

In the old days people used to also coat the duck eggs in warm wood ash and lime and then wrap them in straw. Finally they were indeed soaked in horse urine and allowed to sit buried in the ground until they were used.