No, really, they aren't that exotic...

Now for the preserved duck eggs.... (Life happens, doesn't it...)


This is a soy product, like soy sauce, but much more viscous. It's also a bit sweet, and spicy. Took a bit of looking in the store, but finally, success.. I had to ask a manager type.


I mainly use it for this dish.. It's the preserved duck eggs, sliced up, put on top of silken tofu. (Tofu is sold with different texture, usually silken, firm and extra firm.) The tofu is just cubed into dice sized pieces. And no, no cooking involved... That is to say, no heat applied. You can garnish with cilantro, scallions (green onions) and ginger if you have them around the house. This dish doesn't sit around well, since the salt will leach the water out of the tofu. So assemble right before serving.

Quick word on tofu, the silken type is used in soups, like miso soup, and the firm in stir fries. The mapo tofu, for examples, uses the firm one.




I also found another black bean sauce in addition to the dried type, and that's what I used in the above. Normally I'd try to find spare-ribs, but since these happened to be on sale, I subbed with them instead. Still rib... More meat, less bone, but still yummy. Also has soy sauce, xian xin wine, and vinegar to marinate the meat.