Balut. What more can I say?

Most people find it gross, I can understand that, it’s one helluva ugly looking thing. It looks disgusting, but if there’s one thing in life we have learned, it’s that looks can be deceiving.

The Balut egg is a fertilized duck egg, harvested when it is only about 2 to 4 or more weeks, it is harvested depending on how big the chick people want it. Some people like the chick to be like really developed, complete with a beak, feathers and limbs. Eww! I like it when you can barely see it, just before it gets feathers, if it has feathers and a beak, forget it!

I don’t usually eat the chick anyway, I only eat the yellow part, or the yolk. But, sometimes, if the chick is small enough, I eat it. The balut is high in protein and is said to be an aphrodisiac. We have a friend who is super sexually active and he eats balut everyday, he said it gives him the energy he needs to do the deed with several women at a time. When B and I were trying to get pregnant with Lucas, this friend of ours fed me balut everyday. LOL.

I love eating balut during a rainy day, it’s kind of a comfort food for me, it reminds me of simpler days when B and I were not too stressed with work and everything was cheaper.

So anyway, how do you eat a balut? Different people have different ways to eat it, for example, B likes to peel the top off, drink the liquid and then peels it all the way through, puts salt and then puts it in his mouth, whole. I, on the other hand, take the top off a little (you’re supposed to crack it on the round part of the egg, I always forget which end to crack!), drink the juice, peel it a little more, put salt and sometimes I add vinegar, depends on the mood, then I scoop the contents out with a teaspoon. Or sometimes, I peel it all the way through but put it on a saucer and use a fork to eat it.

Over the years, people have re-invented the balut, cooking it as Adobo (the famous Filipino dish) and even deep frying it. I like it the way it is, but I will always try anything at least once, so when I get to Manila, one of the things on my to-do list is to try the different variations of balut there.

What do you like about the Balut?