Poultry and Eggs · FFET10175
Xian Yadan (salted duck egg)
Duck eggs cured in brine or salted clay and then boiled, with a firm orange-red yolk, eaten with congee or used in mooncakes and zongzi.
A deep white porcelain bowl holds halved salted duck eggs cured with baijiu, their firm orange-red yolks set within the white egg whites and clearly visible in each half, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Chicken, duck, goose and other poultry, with their eggs and egg products.
A salted duck egg is a duck egg cured in salt and then boiled. Curing methods include brine, salted clay or sand, a baijiu soak and chili paste. The yolk is orange-red and firm; the egg goes with congee, and the yolk is used as a mooncake filling. Volume 6 of the Qimin Yaoshu describes steeping duck eggs in brine made with yuan-tree bark, but the available text names no author or date. Gaoyou salted eggs have a great reputation. Yuan Mei praised them, but reports paraphrase him differently, so his exact words are not quoted.
What
A salted duck egg is a duck egg cured in salt and then boiled to eat. There are 4 curing methods: brine, salted clay or sand, a baijiu soak and chili paste; damp salted charcoal is also used. The yolk is orange-red and firm, and the egg goes with congee.1,2
When
Volume 6 of the Qimin Yaoshu records zuo yuan zi fa: duck eggs are steeped in a jar of cooled brine made from boiled yuan-tree bark liquid and salt, and float once salted through. The available text names no author or date, and no dated record was found, so the work's Northern Wei dating is approximate. Egg curing was widespread around Suzhou and Yangzhou in the Southern and Northern Dynasties; related accounts also appear in a Yuan-period agricultural text and writings by Yuan Mei of the Qing.1,3
Where
Salted eggs are made in many places, including Thai and Philippine versions. Gaoyou salted eggs have a great reputation, a fine texture and abundant oil. An October 2, 2025 report mentions Gaoyou's local big-hemp duck breed and curing skills. Yuan Mei praised Gaoyou salted eggs, but reports paraphrase him differently, so his exact words are not quoted here.1,2,4,5
How
The eggs are washed and dried, steeped in cooled salt brine (often with baijiu) in a sealed jar for 25 to 60 days, and then boiled. The 2 recipes differ widely in brine strength: recipe A uses about 950 ml of water with 70 g of salt, and recipe B uses 500 ml of water with 175 g of salt.6,7
Why
The available material does not directly explain why eggs are salted. Salted eggs go with congee, and their yolks are used in zongzi and mooncakes, where they symbolize the moon. Salted eggs are also eaten at the Dragon Boat Festival.1,2,4
Impact and influence
A June 2, 2022 report cites Wang Zengqi's Dragon Boat Festival essay describing the bright red yolks of Gaoyou salted eggs. Salted eggs are eaten at the festival, and their yolks are also used in mooncake and zongzi fillings.1,4
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is brine-cured salted duck egg in a simplified home version, six eggs at a time. Both recipes come from food blogs, their authors are named. The amounts are recipe A at half. Recipe B uses 500 ml of water with 175 g of salt, a far stronger brine than recipe A, and its text is inconsistent about the method and the number of days, so I take just its order of steps from it and follow recipe A for the rest.
Ingredients
- Duck eggs 6, washed
- Water 475 ml
- Sea salt 35 g
- Baijiu (Chinese white liquor) 60 ml, to roll the eggs in
Steps
- Wash the eggs and dry them, look each one over, and set aside any with a crack.
- Set the eggs on a clean plate and leave them in the sun for a short while, until the shells are dry.
- Pour the baijiu into a bowl and roll each egg in it until the shell is wet all over, then leave them for an hour.
- Bring the water and salt to a boil until the salt dissolves, turn off the heat, and let the brine cool completely.
- Put the eggs in a clean glass jar and pour in the cooled brine so that it covers every egg. Weigh them down with a small plate, close the lid tightly and keep the jar in a cool place.
- After 30 days I take out one egg, boil it for 10 to 12 minutes, cut it open and taste. If the saltiness and the yolk are right, I take out the rest; if not, I keep curing, and recipe A allows 30 to 60 days.
- Take the cured eggs out of the brine and keep them in the refrigerator. To eat, boil an egg for 10 to 12 minutes, until the yolk is set.
Tips
- Boiled salted eggs go in the refrigerator; recipe A says up to a month, and I try to finish them sooner.
- The eggs must all stay under the brine, so I weigh them down with a small plate.
Allergens: egg