As a child I remember seeing these bright white eggs in the tray compared to the normal eggs I’ve seen in the fridge. I asked my mum why are these eggs different and she said try one! The first time I tried it I remember the salty sensation on my tongue and I pulled a face and asked why is the egg salty? My mum said these are a Chinese speciality – Salty Duck Eggs. Over the years I’ve grown to love them and when paired with steamed rice I could happily eat one or two whole salty eggs on my own. My mum explained to me that the best salted duck eggs should have a bright, orangey red yolk and the egg white should be translucent. Give it a go and you’ll change your perspective on normal boiled eggs forever.
Makes 12 eggs
Prep time 15 minutes
Soak time 30 days
12 duck eggs (or chicken eggs)
900ml water
200g sea salt (or rock salt)
1 star anise
2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Rinse the eggs and drain well. Set aside.
Put water and salt in a saucepan. Add the star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Bring it to the boil. Once the salt completely dissolves, remove from the heat. Leave to cool completely.
Once cooled, pour in the wine and stir well. Carefully arrange the eggs in a 2 litre clean glass container. Check every egg to make sure there are no cracks on it. Pour the salted water into the container and cover the eggs. You’ll notice some eggs will float to the surface, so place something, like a little sauce plate on top of the eggs. The basic idea is to get all eggs completely submerged in the brine. Tightly cover the container and place at room temperature. The brining process normally takes 30–40 days. Label the start and finish dates on the container to remind yourself.
Drain all the eggs and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Put them in an egg carton and keep in the fridge. The salted eggs can be kept for a 4 weeks in the fridge.
To book a table at Sweet Mandarin email sweetmandarintables@gmail.com . Our opening times are Tuesday – Sunday 5-10pm.
Sweet Mandarin is a Chinese Restaurant in Manchester which serves delicious Chinese cuisine and exotic cocktails. We make our own sweet chilli sauce, bbq sauce, sweet & sour sauce which you can buy from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado, Booths, Wing Yip and Chi Yip. Sweet Mandarin Chinese Restaurant and Cookery Schoolcan cater for the gluten free, dairy free diners. We are a short 15 minute walk from the Manchester Arena. We are not based in Chinatown, but based in the trendy Northern Quarter near the Arndale Centre, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Debenhams and Primark. The nearest hotels to us are the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, Premier Apartments, Blue Rainbow Aparthotels, Light Hotel and Hatters Hostel.