Balut: You want 12 day, 16 day, or 18 day?

Cebu, Philippines.

I've done the edible egg embryo before in other countries, but I've always wanted to try it in the Philippines. I first heard of this popular snack from perhaps a National Geographic article on the Philippines, and for years I wondered if I could stomach them. I have several times now.

They're duck embryos, but there was a rumor going around today in Cebu that a vendor had been spotted selling "chicken balut", which my acquaintences agreed was a silly idea and just didn't taste as good as the duck ones. I can't be sure; we didn't see him tonight.



As I said before, when I ate them in Cambodia, I actually quite liked them and it's probably my favorite tasting weird meat. I haven't tried them side-by-side, of course, but the Philippine balut resembled the Cambodian ones in every respect I can recall.

First you choose between 12 day, 16 day, and 18 day. The 12 day ones are just hard-boiled eggs with no embryonic development. The 16 day ones are further along but concensus was that these are just inferior to the king of balut -- exactly 18 days after being laid.



After you choose what kind you want, the vendor grabs them piping hot from the basket and passes you a little stool, salt, and a vinegar-onion sauce. You hold the hot egg and flick carefully but forcefully at the top of it with your middle finger. It cracks a bit and you gently remove a small hole from the top, so you can sip the savory broth before removing the whole shell. I agree that the 18-day one is better than the younger ones. You might come across some small chunkies but it's usually just eaten all the way through, in about 3 mouthful bites. You can see feathers, head, wings, and skeleton forming, but it's basically an extra-chewy easter egg. The flavor is savory and delicious; the texture satisfying. Match with a light pilsner beer.



If you're in Cebu City looking for the balut, I got mine from a street vendor at Fuente Osmena circle. He was really helpful and knowledgable, and proud of his product. The cool thing about traveling in the Philippines is that most everyone speaks English, so don't be shy to ask questions.
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Addition: Found more info on balut. The eggs are from the "itik duck" which is native to the Philippines. Itik mother ducks are lazy so humans have to incubate them after the mother ignores them. That explains a lot. More info here.