I always go to Inala Civic Centre almost every weekend and last week, to my delight, I found some freshly boiled BALUT!
Balut is a boiled fertilized duck egg with an early stage developed embryo. In the Philippines, Balut are sold around late afternoon till early morning as street food. They are kept warm in large cane basket with heavy cloth insulation alongside Penoy (an infertile incubated duck egg). Rumoured to be an aphrodisiac, giving “strong knees” for the male species as old people use to say in the Philippines. You can spot Balut vendors around bus terminals, jeepney stops and outside the cinemas. Other vendors choose to walk the streets with a familiar sing song chant of “BAAaaaluuuut, PEeeenoOY! Bili na kayo nang BAAaaluuuut, PEeeenoOY!” (Balut, Penoy! Buy some Balut, Penoy!).
Best eaten while hot/warm, with a good pinch of salt. You sip the broth first before you eat the rest, the white part are not usually eaten as it has a tough cartilage texture to it.
I bought 4x Balut for AUD$10 from the Filipino Shop in Lilac Street. As I was paying for some Mama Sita’s packets, I’ve noticed two dozen or so of Balut being displayed in front of the counter, I ask the shop owner if they were uncooked Balut, she told me they were freshly cooked that morning, all I have to do was reheat the eggs in hot water for a couple of minutes. She even told me that the baby chicks are really small, which is good for me as I don’t really want to see chicks that are ready to flap their wings!
I love the Balut broth and yolk, I tried to be a full Pro Filipino street food eater by eating the chicks a couple of times before, but they won’t go down, no matter how I tried. So here I am, a self confessed Balut yolk eater. That’s why I love Penoy, same yolk taste but no chick inside.
Sad to say, I’m the only Balut and Penoy eater in the TRIBE :(
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the details of the Filipino Shop in Inala:
J&V Bayanihan Asian & Island Foods
Shop 8/6 Lilac Street
INALA QLD 4077
Tel: 07 38796222
I understand your excitement.. I love balut too! Glad that we have that here in SD too.
ReplyDelete@Malou~ It's really funny, I get super excited when I see Saba Bananas and Balut, they are only available once in a while:)
ReplyDeleteI used to LOVE balut - until I turned 10 and found out what it was... I think as a child I was much less queasy about food! But I still wouldn't mind having it - but without the little chick - just the egg yolk will do!
ReplyDeleteHi Cusinera, I organise a Cooking Club at a homewares store in Brisbane. This month our theme is Asian Cuisine and I was wondering if you would be a guest this week, to share all your knowledge. taste.cookingclub@gmail.com
ReplyDelete:) Jill
I haven't had balut since I was a little girl. I remember always just sipping the broth and eating the yolk but giving the chick to my dad, haha.
ReplyDeleteCusinera, just discovered your site when I read the MarketManila blog. Curious what yours is like.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love balut also chick and all when I was younger but now I just prefer the Penoy. I did not even know that is what it is called til now. Although I prefer the white part as it is hard and crunchy. farida