We tasted balut in the Philippines and We’ve survived
Call me crazy, but when we decided to travel to the Philippines, I had a single culinary goal: to eat Balut, one of the strangest (and for many, the most disgusting) and bizarre street foods you can find in all of Asia or the world.
While it’s true that the Philippines is full of delicious dishes waiting to be discovered and known, the Balut egg intrigued me the most.
In Europe, it’s impossible to find it , and my Filipino friends spoke of this delicacy as something extraordinary, aphrodisiac, peculiar, and delicious all at the same time.
You might be thinking, as you read this, that eating a fertilized egg with an embryo could be daring or, in some cases, even repulsive.
However, if you’ve made it this far, you’re curious and want to know what is the taste of this bizarre food. And you probably want to know what we think about it as the title suggests, ‘WE’VE TRIED IT,’. Overall, Balut has been another of the many bizarre foods we’ve eaten on our travels.
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PS: This category and its posts could be offensive and disgusting depending on your culinary tastes or your worldview. We don't want to offend anyone by sharing our experiences; these are our experiences, and they stay here. World cuisine offers peculiarities that may seem strange to you, but they exist and they are cultural parts of the countries in question. Anyway, if you want to be respected, respect first, and if you don't like the topic, you can easily exit the post, have a lovely day my friend.
Do you want to know what we think of it? How about I give you a brief introduction to Balut and explain in this post what we thought of it? Stay strong; this post is for strong stomachs. Enjoy the read.
Let’s start with the first question…
What is balut?
Balut is nothing more and nothing less than an egg. Well, the truth is, I haven’t told you everything; it is not only an egg.
This delicacy is a fertilized egg that is boiled and consumed with the developed embryo. As I mentioned before, my Filipino friends always spoke of this egg as a delicacy appreciated for its unique flavor, alleged properties, and more than unique texture.
Balut could not help but fall into our category of the most bizarre foods we have tried in our travels around the world because this embryo-containing egg is quite strange for the average tourist.
How is balut prepared?
I will respond clearly to this question. Despite being a Chef, I have never prepared balut on my own or in the kitchens where I have worked. Nonetheless, my curiosity and the fortune of working with many Filipino Chefs have given me the capacity to answer this question (always speaking humbly).
Essentially, the eggs are incubated for a period that usually ranges between 16 and 21 days, depending on the country, the desired texture, or the size of the eggs. In the Philippines, they typically incubate them for 17 days to achieve a tender texture, with the bones still not calcified, although I know that larger eggs are incubated for 21 days; I imagine this is due to the difference in size.
At this point, carefully selected eggs that are perfectly fertilized are cleaned before being boiled in boiling water, as if they were regular eggs. However, the cooking time depends a lot on each person and their personal taste, although, from what I have understood, it varies from 15 to 25 minutes, achieving a creamy texture of the yolk and fully cooked embryo.
What animal is balut prepared from?
Generally, balut can be made from duck or chicken, although duck balut is more common in the Philippines.
I’m sure that eggs made with chicken are also often found, claiming to be softer than duck eggs, although I think it depends a lot on where or in which nation you try it.
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Where is balut eaten?
As you can understand from the post title, balut is consumed throughout the Philippines.
Despite that, many Asian countries enjoy this egg daily for its taste and properties. Among these countries are China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and probably others in the surrounding region.
Where to eat balut in the Philippines?
This question is quite easy to answer since balut can be enjoyed everywhere as it is a typical street food. You can find this peculiar delicacy at street food stalls, practically in every local market (especially the nightly ones).
As absurd as it may seem, you can also taste it in more or less gourmet versions at some restaurants in the country.
We tried it for the first time on the streets of Boracay Island, near the central plaza. There, you’ll find several people offering this delicacy every night.
I encourage you to try it on the streets of the country, as I did and as all Filipinos who savor this preparation do every day of the year. Don’t be afraid; it’s just an egg and is an integral part of Filipino culture. If you’re curious, you won’t be disappointed.
What properties does balut have?
If you ask any Filipino, there is no doubt that Balut is considered an aphrodisiac; it’s not for nothing that it’s sold more often at night, “perhaps why?” 😉
In addition to this, balut is considered a great source of nutrition, with a high content of proteins, fats, and calcium. Especially because of the latter nutrient, it is said that eating this fertilized egg is good for the bones and strengthens the knees. This comes straight from the gentleman who sold me balut for the first time.
On the flip side, it’s better not to eat balut if you have blood pressure problems, as it gives you a rush. A man told me he couldn’t eat it every day because it made him dizzy. Can you imagine? Many people don’t eat it because it disgusts them, and others want to eat it every day for its qualities. The strange things in life!
Why do Asians like to eat balut?
I think it’s primarily a matter of taste and sustenance since eggs, in themselves, have always been an accessible and delicious food, although strange in this case, you can find them in every corner of the world.
Nevertheless, and considering the attachment to various cultures, especially the Filipino culture, the attraction to balut goes beyond its gastronomic aspect.
The cultural connection with its preparation, its exotic (and sometimes frightening) nature to foreigners, and beliefs in its properties contribute to its popularity and consumption by all these Asian communities and daring tourists.
In this case, I see myself a bit reflected in this last part. This is because in my homeland, the island of Sardinia, we eat one of the strangest (delicious for me) and for many people disgusting “casu marzu” or cheese with live maggots. Perhaps one day I’ll write about this cheese too. For now, let’s go back to balut…
How to eat balut?
This is how I ate balut for the first time, following the advice of the person who sold it to me. The top shell is carefully removed, making only a small hole. Then, salt is added to taste, and if desired, pepper or vinegar, and the liquid is sipped.
Afterward, the peeling continues gradually, and the egg with the embryo is eaten in bites, always with the addition of salt and vinegar.
Some people eat it whole, although I don’t see much sense in that, as in addition to the risk of choking (it’s always an egg), I don’t think you can appreciate all the textures and flavors fully.
Probably, in this case, it’s more for sustenance than for enjoying the experience.
What does Balut taste like? (our personal opinion)– Balut en filipinas
And finally, we’ve come to the part that likely interests you the most, our personal opinion as classic (not so much) tourists who dared to try this fertilized egg for the first time.
So, to the question: What does Balut taste like?
Balut decidedly tastes like egg, or rather, like egg and chicken. No surprises, not even an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Of course, different flavors are noticeable as you eat it because in addition to the yolk and the white, the embryo tastes like boiled chicken meat (it couldn’t taste like anything else).
Probably, according to my experience, the gross-out effect and the reason many people would rather not try it is that they focus on the embryo inside the egg.
This gives the impression that you’re about to eat something strange or unpleasant. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Well, it does give a bit of a weird feeling to see it for the first time, but even so, I wouldn’t hesitate if I come across this bizarre food again during my future trips.
Overall, I can confirm that balut is totally approved, and I invite you once again to try it (if you feel like it or are curious to taste an Asian delicacy and delve into this Filipino cultural aspect).
Conclusions– Where is Dubai located
After sharing our opinions and all this information, let me ask you something:
Are you willing to try balut on your next trip to Asia? Have you already tried it?
Write to us in the comments or via email; we will be happy and curious to hear your personal opinion about this bizarre Asian delicacy. Soon, we’ll be back with more preparations and strange foods we’ve tried on our trips, so get ready for more surprises. See you next time!
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