Preserved egg

Preserved egg, known as songhua dan or pi dan in Chinese, is a product of chemical experiment. When the duck or goose egg is preserved in a mixture of bittern and the water used in grinding green beans, the protein in the egg subsides and the egg white becomes transparent and greenish. Irregular snownake patterns dot the egg white, while the yolk becomes juicy and bluish green. The light blue shell makes the egg appear like a fossil just excavated, thus some foreigners call it "thousand year-old egg". In any restaurant, you can order the cold dish named preserved egg with bean curd. More flavors can be added with ginger juice or green pepper. Southern Chinese often prepare rice porridge with preserved egg and lean meat. Preserved egg in fish chip soup also tastes excellent.