WEBVTT - What Is Balut, and How Do You Eat It?

0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.800
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain

0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:10.640
<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren Vogel Bomb. Here around the world, street food

0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:16.400
<v Speaker 1>provides nutrition, sometimes, entertainment usually and Instagram opportunities increasingly on

0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:19.680
<v Speaker 1>the go from fresh cut fruit to dirty water dogs

0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.799
<v Speaker 1>to rhody to surf fried noodles to deep fried everything

0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:26.960
<v Speaker 1>two pretzels to kebab of all kinds, but nothing is

0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:31.680
<v Speaker 1>quite like ballot translating to rap into Galic and Malay,

0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:35.760
<v Speaker 1>balut is a partially developed bird embryo, typically a duck

0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.120
<v Speaker 1>that's incubated for anywhere from fourteen to twenty one days

0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:42.720
<v Speaker 1>before it's boiled or steamed and eaten at around one

0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.240
<v Speaker 1>eight eight calories each with approximately fourteen grams of protein.

0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.920
<v Speaker 1>This delicacy is a staple at roadside markets in Southeast Asia.

0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.160
<v Speaker 1>Although many of us around the world eat unfertilized eggs,

0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.400
<v Speaker 1>the idea of eating one that's been fertilized and this

0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.040
<v Speaker 1>contains and albeit very early stage developing duck inside it

0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:04.280
<v Speaker 1>can seem a bit well odd, but balut is widely

0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.199
<v Speaker 1>considered a celebrated staple in countries like Vietnam and the Philippines.

0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.920
<v Speaker 1>It's also purported to be an aphrodisiac, though historically speaking,

0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:15.160
<v Speaker 1>pretty much everything has been at some point. Seriously, my

0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.119
<v Speaker 1>other show is a food show, and the only thing

0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:22.039
<v Speaker 1>we found that's definitely not has been lettuce. But anyway, baloot.

0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:26.160
<v Speaker 1>How and where did balot get its start? It all

0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.680
<v Speaker 1>begins in China. Balut was first introduced from China to

0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.119
<v Speaker 1>the Philippines in five where it quickly became a cheap

0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:37.039
<v Speaker 1>and easy snack for laborers from their Filipino immigrants took

0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.520
<v Speaker 1>balut with them wherever they immigrated, and it caught on

0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:44.200
<v Speaker 1>in countries like Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. In the Philippines,

0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.760
<v Speaker 1>balut is everywhere. It's often eaten as a late night snack.

0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.880
<v Speaker 1>Street vendors hawking the dish open as the sun goes down,

0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.320
<v Speaker 1>and it's common to hear them shouting out balot to

0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:57.800
<v Speaker 1>people walking by. The dish. Comes with some amount of controversy.

0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.840
<v Speaker 1>It's forbidden by some religious practice is like Islam and

0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.880
<v Speaker 1>Judaism that plays restrictions on what animals can be eaten

0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.080
<v Speaker 1>and how they can be slaughtered. Additionally, some countries like

0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:10.960
<v Speaker 1>Canada count balot as a health risk, as quote incubators

0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:14.280
<v Speaker 1>are conducive to the potential growth of salmonella, though the

0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:16.400
<v Speaker 1>same thing can be said about eating raw cookie dough

0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:21.520
<v Speaker 1>or even eggs benedict. However, unlike most controversial foods, the

0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.120
<v Speaker 1>stigma surrounding balot is one that should be taken with

0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.480
<v Speaker 1>a grain of salt. We spoke via email with food

0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:30.960
<v Speaker 1>and travel host and journalist Christie Hung. She's a self

0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:34.200
<v Speaker 1>described Balot fan who's eaten the fertilized duck egg at

0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.079
<v Speaker 1>home and on the side of the road in various

0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:40.000
<v Speaker 1>places all over Asia. She said, I mean, the dish

0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:42.839
<v Speaker 1>can be daunting to try, but every culture has their

0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.000
<v Speaker 1>own so called weird dish that's an acquired taste. For many.

0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.040
<v Speaker 1>Scots have haggis, Swedes have stir strumming, the Chinese have Durian,

0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:54.959
<v Speaker 1>and Japanese have nato. It's an excellent point. So how

0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:58.240
<v Speaker 1>does one eat balot and more importantly, what the heck

0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.360
<v Speaker 1>does it taste like? How suggests that all you really

0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.240
<v Speaker 1>need is a pinch of salt and a couple of herbs.

0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:06.760
<v Speaker 1>Balut is prepared sort of like a hard boiled egg.

0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.960
<v Speaker 1>The fertilized egg is cooked in boiling water for about

0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.000
<v Speaker 1>twenty to thirty minutes and you eat it while it's

0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.320
<v Speaker 1>still warm. If you want to consume it the typical

0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.760
<v Speaker 1>Filipino way, you crack the shell of the egg and

0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:20.560
<v Speaker 1>peel a small hole in the inner membrane, then sip

0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.640
<v Speaker 1>the warm fluid inside. Finally season the solid goods remaining

0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:28.720
<v Speaker 1>with salt and vinegar, then peel and eat. But Hang

0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.400
<v Speaker 1>explains that there's really no right or wrong way to

0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:33.799
<v Speaker 1>eat balut, and she says she knows plenty of people

0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.760
<v Speaker 1>who eat it with chili pasteore vinegar. The only thing

0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.440
<v Speaker 1>you really want to avoid is bellut that's too old,

0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:42.240
<v Speaker 1>as in the embryo inside is too old. So it's

0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.320
<v Speaker 1>basically a duck that she says, can taste and I

0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:50.320
<v Speaker 1>quote life ruining. Hang said, if you find a proper

0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.120
<v Speaker 1>place that prepares it, then it should taste like a moose.

0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.520
<v Speaker 1>The ballot itself should be mild. The yolk portion should

0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.440
<v Speaker 1>taste rich and creamy. The broth portion should taste like

0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.720
<v Speaker 1>an extremely rich chicken or duck soup. If it's undercooked

0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:04.640
<v Speaker 1>or if the ballot is too old that it can

0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:10.120
<v Speaker 1>taste fishy or crunchy, that's not what you want. Incubation

0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:13.200
<v Speaker 1>timing is indeed key for Ballut, and seventeen days of

0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:16.640
<v Speaker 1>incubation is the sweet spot. Eggs aged just to that

0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:20.080
<v Speaker 1>point should be boneless, taste like poultry, and have a

0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.840
<v Speaker 1>smooth texture like moose. As Hang said, Ballut that age

0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:27.360
<v Speaker 1>longer could have beaks, bones, and even feathers, which are

0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.039
<v Speaker 1>all still edible, but maybe not what you're looking for.

0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.120
<v Speaker 1>And if you're not in Southeast Asia, never fear, you

0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.400
<v Speaker 1>don't have to travel too far to try this. Dish

0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.359
<v Speaker 1>cities across the United States now boast any number of

0:04:39.400 --> 0:04:47.080
<v Speaker 1>spots serving it. Today's episode was written by Jeremy Glass

0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.600
<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production

0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:51.839
<v Speaker 1>of iHeart Radio's has Tough Works. For more on this

0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.200
<v Speaker 1>and lots of other curious topics, is that our home planet,

0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.800
<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com, And for more podcasts from

0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:59.720
<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:12.240
<v Speaker 1>or ever you listen to your favorite shows. M