Iron eggs are a chewy, dark-colored egg snack from Taiwan made by stewing eggs in a spice mixture and air-drying them. They originated in New Taipei City and are sold by street vendors. Other popular Taiwanese egg dishes include the Thousand Year Egg, salted duck egg, and tea eggs.
Iron eggs are a traditional Taiwanese dish made from eggs that are repeatedly stewed in a spice mixture and air-dried. The result is a dark, chewy, flavorful egg usually eaten as a snack. It is different from other hard-boiled eggs in that it has a very dark color which comes from the soy sauce used. They are sold by many street food vendors in Taiwan.
While the origins of the iron eggs aren’t exactly known, it is thought that they originated in a harborside restaurant in New Taipei City. On a slow day, the eggs had to be restarted on numerous occasions as few people came to buy them. The resulting egg was deliciously chewy due to loss of albumin with repeated cooking and the delicacy was born.
Most commonly, iron eggs are made from chicken eggs, but any eggs, such as quail and duck, can be used. Iron eggs are not the only version of the egg that is well known in Taiwanese cuisine. Various other forms of eggs are found on Taiwanese menus and restaurants. One of the most famous is the Millennial Egg, which he claims is the cheese counterpart of blue cheese.
Contrary to its name, the Thousand Year Egg, one of several traditionally Chinese egg dishes, isn’t really a thousand years old. It is, in fact, an egg – chicken, duck or quail – which has been preserved in a mixture of lime, salt, ash and clay for a few weeks or months. The result is that the egg white becomes dark and gelatinous and the yellow is a green color and becomes a creamy consistency. Thousand-year-old eggs, like iron eggs, are considered a delicacy.
Another well-known Taiwanese egg dish is the salted duck egg. Traditionally these are made by placing duck eggs in a mixture of salt and mud for an extended period of time. Today duck eggs are more commonly soaked in brine, resulting in a very salty, chewy egg white and creamy yolk.
The other commonly found Taiwan boiled egg dish is tea eggs. These live up to their name and are just that: eggs boiled in tea. The result is a brownish boiled egg that has a hint of tea flavor. As with iron eggs, all of these eggs are popular as a snack or as an accompaniment to a larger meal.
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