Missionary Madi let us know that she is a true Phili! Apparently partaking in the eating of balut is all that is required. Living in the country, speaking Cebuano, doing your laundry in a bucket, using the bathroom with out toilet paper, riding in a tricycle does not make the experience authentic. You are not truly immersed in the culture until you partake of the Filipino delicacy of eating Balut!
Missionary Madi states "We ate balut. Yup! Barf. I ate a duck, wings, beak and feathers and
all. I wish I could send videos it was awful and I freaked out. The
Poly's we were with just downed it."
Balut eggs are fertilized duck (sometimes chicken) eggs that are at the stage of development where there is a nearly developed embryo inside. The balut egg then boiled and usually eaten with salt, just like a normal boiled egg. In the Philippines the perfect balut egg is normally 17 days old, the point where the chick does not have beak, bones or feathers. Balut eggs can typically be purchased from a street vendor who keeps them warm in a bucket of sand.
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| Eeek! Bag full of Balut eggs! |
A
balut or
balot is a
developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell. It is commonly sold as streetfood in the
Philippines
The
Filipino and
Malay word
balut (balot) means "wrapped" – depending on
pronunciation.
Fertilized duck
eggs
are kept warm in the sun and stored in baskets to retain warmth. After
nine days, the eggs are held to a light to reveal the embryo inside.
Approximately eight days later the balut are ready to be cooked, sold,
and eaten.
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