The Chinese Delicacy Costco Is Now Selling By The Case
To the joy of century egg fans, some Costco warehouses have started selling this Chinese delicacy. Reddit user kawi-bawi-bo, who also goes by the handle The Sushi Guy/@photogami on YouTube, found them in the San Jose, California, warehouse. He reviewed these preserved duck eggs on both Reddit and YouTube.
Century eggs are a traditional Chinese food, with a history dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). Eggs have long been popular in Chinese cuisine, and are prepared in a variety of ways. Preserving eggs made them last longer, and they are still popular today. Century eggs can be made from a variety of poultry eggs, including duck and quail eggs.
To make century eggs, you preserve them in a mixture of salt, clay, wood ash, and quicklime for a period of time. Making the clay with tea instead of water enhances the eggs' flavor. In Ming China, the preserved eggs were wrapped in rice hulls, but some modern-day recipes skip the rice hulls in favor of placing the eggs in a plastic bag inside a lidded pot, which is easier and less messy.
Costco's century eggs, made by Kaiping City Xuri Eggs Products Co., Ltd., are duck eggs. While the ingredients listed on the package are duck eggs, water, and salt, it seems likely that other ingredients were used in the preservation process.
How to eat century eggs
Although The Sushi Guy eats a century egg all by itself in his YouTube video, he also samples congee (savory rice porridge) with century egg pieces, a popular way to eat preserved duck eggs. His verdict: Costco's century eggs have an ammonia smell when eaten alone, but the ammonia overtones are much less obvious when the eggs are eaten in congee.
There are other ways to enjoy century eggs, too. Some people eat them as appetizers, dipped in soy sauce. Others make a more elaborate congee, such as pork congee, and include preserved eggs in the finished dish. Still others serve century eggs with chilled tofu or as part of a salad.
If you enjoy century eggs, check with your local Costco warehouse to see if you can buy a case of Xuri preserved duck eggs. According to The Sushi Guy, the case includes 20 individually-wrapped eggs and sells for $13.99 at the San Jose Costco.