In Southeast Asia and some parts of China, hairy eggs are a popular traditional food. In different parts of China, it is also called Wang egg, chicken egg, hairy egg, happy egg, etc.
With the increase of world contacts, Mao Dan has also spread to the West. For example, they can also be seen in some Asian supermarkets in the United States and Canada, with a special English name [balut].
How did the hairy eggs come from
Both eggs and duck eggs can be made into hairy eggs. There are more hairy eggs in China and hairy duck eggs are very common in Southeast Asia.
Here, let’s talk about the source of hairy eggs with common hairy eggs in China.
Conceptually, hairy eggs are fertilized eggs that have not been hatched completely. It comes from two sources:
- In the process of hatching chickens, Because of temperature, humidity or bacterial contamination, The embryo stops developing. Such eggs are picked out, They are sold and eaten as hairy eggs. The other is normally hatched eggs, which are artificially terminated, which is equivalent to a specially processed egg. In different regions, the duration of termination of hatching varies, usually between 14 and 21 days. In Nanjing region, hatching lasts about 12 days, which is called “live beads”.
After being heated and cooked, some soup, solidified protein and some formed chicken organs will appear in the hairy eggs.
Can I eat hairy eggs?
Generally speaking, a kind of food [can be eaten] refers to whether it is safe.
Hairy eggs are the products of eggs hatching to a certain stage, and no toxic substances will be produced in this process. Therefore, theoretically, hairy eggs are [edible].
However, the hatching process of eggs requires appropriate temperature and humidity. This condition is also very suitable for bacterial growth.
Especially in less clean environment, there may be various pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella.
They may not only adhere to the eggshell, but also penetrate into the inside of the egg. This possibility is even higher especially for those hairy eggs that fail to incubate chickens.
Therefore, hairy eggs are a kind of food with high risk of pathogenic bacteria contamination and are classified as [potentially risky food] in the United States and Canada.
Of course, this does not mean that hairy eggs are [cannot be eaten], but that there are more chances of infection with bacteria, which require standardized and cautious operation to ensure safety.
For example, if it is specially hatched for making hairy eggs, keep the hygiene of the hatching place well, and refrigerate and process in time after stopping hatching, then bacterial contamination can still be controlled to a safe range. Moreover, hairy eggs are generally fully heated by steaming, boiling or even frying, and then eaten immediately, which also greatly reduces safety risks.
However, eggs are generally sold at street stalls. It is difficult for consumers to know whether they come from regular channels with standardized management or [black workshops] where hygiene cannot be guaranteed.
Just like all kinds of food in street stalls, it is not that [this kind of food] is unsafe, but that [these foods] that are operated may have various potential safety hazards.
Is the egg delicious?
Whether it tastes good or not is a very subjective personal judgment. Like other traditional foods, hairy eggs are also foods that make people love and hate [those who love it are full of pleasure when they think of it, and those who do not love it are nauseous when they hear it].
Boiled hairy eggs are directly peeled off the eggshell, starting with drinking the soup and finally eating the molded embryos.
There is a video on the Internet showing the reaction of some Americans to eating hairy eggs for the first time. In the video, some people said it was delicious, some said they were not interested, and others said it was novel.
In short, whether it is delicious or not, other people’s evaluation is useless, and one’s own feeling is valuable.
Is the hairy egg worth eating?
The popularity of hairy eggs is largely due to people’s [belief] that they are rich in nutrition and even have some [special effects].
It is true that many substances have changed from fertilized eggs to embryos, but whether these changes will produce substances with [special effects] is only supported by speculation. So far, there is no scientific evidence to support it. In addition, even if hairy eggs have some [bioactive substances], most of them will lose their activity during cooking.
Although there is no scientific evidence to deny those [effects] of eating hairy eggs, those effects are far-fetched and imagined. As long as there is no evidence to support them, the reasonable attitude should be:
The legendary [efficacy] of those hairy eggs is unreliable!
The author’s answer to the question of whether to eat hairy eggs is:
- If it is for [nutrition] or legendary [efficacy], don’t bother, eating normal eggs is safe and reliable; If it is for [delicious] or [experience novelty], then there is nothing wrong with it.
However, the author reminds everyone that, just as the article said, there is a great possibility that the source of this kind of thing is unreliable-how to weigh and how to avoid risks between appetite and security risks depends on oneself.