Quick salted egg yolk can ressolve two problems: reduce processing time from 2 weeks to less than 1 day, and save the egg whites for later use.
Salted egg yolk is a special food in Asia and commonly used as a flavoring agent in various Asian dishes. This year, I’m seriously planning to make traditional mixed nuts & fruits mooncake, so I’m in need of some salted egg yolks. However, in Belgium, it’s not easy for me to find one traditional cured salted duck egg yolk, so I decide to make a few by myself. This is the first time I make it, also because I needed 2-3 cured egg yolks for traditional and piggy mooncakes, so “a few” means two 😀 After successfully making quick salted egg yolks, I’m excited to share it.
What are Cured Salted Egg Yolks
Salted egg yolk is the solid, orange-yellow center of a preserved duck or chicken egg that has been soaked or coated in a mixture of salt and herbs. This process imparts a distinct salty and savory flavor to the yolk. Their unique taste adds a rich and creamy dimension to Asian culinary, such as salted egg yolk prawns, salted egg yolk custard buns, sweet snail/crab in salted egg yolk sauce, etc. Salted egg yolk sauce is always my favorite sauce for cooking and dipping.
The combination between salted egg yolks and various fillings of mooncakes is indeed perfect. The savory egg yolks balance the sweetness in mixed nuts & fruits or bean paste used in mooncakes’ filling. Therefore, when Mid-Autumn Festival comes, this ingredient is indispensable. With every type of mooncake filling, you always have two options, with and without salted eggs.
Why you should try quick salted egg yolk
To understand the reason behind the method of making quick salted egg yolk, we should know how people cure egg yolks in salt. There are two traditional methods to make them, “wet” and “dry” method. With “wet” method, people soak the whole duck or chicken eggs in brine solution in 2-4 weeks. In “dry” method, eggs are coated by salt paste and cured in 2-3 weeks. Once done, they crack the shells, remove the egg whites, and collects egg yolks only.
You can see two problems: we must wait at least 2 weeks to get cured salted egg yolks. Moreover, we have to throw away all the salted egg whites, because they are to savory to cook and eat like normal and are not applied in any other dishes. That’s a food waste. As a result, quick salted egg yolk method is created to shorten the processing time and save egg whites for others uses, such as making meringue or macarons.
However, there is also a drawback. The globular shape of an egg yolk can’t be kept; we’ll get an oval salted egg yolk. This drawback appears obviously in homemade mooncake but is nothing in making cured egg yolk sauce. After considering its advantages and disadvantages, I’m still into quick method more.
Choosing Ingredients for quick salted egg yolk
It’s very simple: you will need duck or chicken eggs, and salt. You can also mix several tbsp of sugar, a bit pepper, cinnamon powder or thyme into salt mix, but in general, salt and eggs are enough.
The original eggs to cure are duck eggs; however, since it is not as popular as chicken eggs, it’s quite hard to find outside of Asia. Finally, I made 2 quick salted egg yolks from chicken eggs and pure salt. Note that salt flakes are not recommended as it can pierce the yolks and spoil the whole batch.
How to make quick salted egg yolk
The making process is surprisingly easy. The total time for curing is short as well, you can use it after 5-7 hours or ideally after a day. You can also leave them there for 5 days in fridge, but pay attention that they will become super salty. Let’s follow these steps:
Step 1: Make a salt base & holes
Take a box in the kitchen, the size depends on the numbers of egg yolks you would like to cure in salt. Then, make a base of salt, about 1cm thick, by adding salt to the box and spread it evenly to cover the surface of the box. It’s about 150g (5 oz) of salt.
The salt base should be thick enough to make the hole. Use a whole egg to shape an oval hole on the salt. I planned to make 3; however, I accidentally pierced one yolk and had to remove it.
Step 2. Separate egg white and yolk
Now, crack eggs into a bowl. Of course, the number of eggs you should crack is equal to the egg yolks would like to cure in salt. Gently separate egg yolks and whites. There are many ways to do it, for me, I choose the basic, easiest way using hands (remember to wash your hands carefully before doing that). Otherwise, you can remove egg whites from egg yolks using the shell, or a spoon. You can also crack the eggs on a grill/cooling rack and wait for the egg whites to drop down. Make sure there are no remaining whites around the yolks.
Save the egg whites for later use in meringue frosting or simply poaching or frying. Transfer the yolks to the holes you prepared.
Step 3. Cover the yolks with salt
Finally, cover your egg yolks with a layer of salt. Make sure your yolks are fully covered in salt. Close the lid of the box and keep it in fridge in 5-7 hours until 5 days. For me, I cure them overnight. Remember that the longer curing time, the more salty yolks. I recommend to cure the yolks less than 1 day if you cure them in salt only.
Step 4. Bake salted egg yolks
After curing time, safely remove the egg yolks from salt. Rinse them under water until clear and check the textures of them. If you see a clear egg yolk with quite firm and sticky texture, you are successful. Pat them dry.
Finally, bake them to remove any excess liquid inside the yolk. This is for longer preservation; if you plan to use the yolk immediately, you can skip this step. However, I recommend baking salted egg yolk, the texture would be firmer and less sticky.
Bake it at 176°F (80°C) in 30 minutes until the yolks are fully dry. Finally, transfer them into a clean container and use in up to 3 months.
Super easy, isn’t it? Let’s discover many more ways to use quick salted egg yolks in making desserts, main courses or even substitute them for cheese!
Quick Salted Egg Yolk
Quick salted egg yolk can ressolve two problems: reduce processing time from 2 weeks to less than 1 day, and save the egg whites for later use.
Ingredients
- 4 duck or chicken eggs
- 300 - 500g (1 1/4 - 2 cups) fine salt
- (Optional) 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp thyme
Instructions
Step 1: Make a salt base & holes
- Take a box, the size depends on the numbers of egg yolks you would like to cure. Then, make a base of salt or salt mix with sugar & herbs, about 1cm-2cm thick, by adding salt to the box and spread it evenly to cover the surface of the box.
- The salt base should be thick enough to make the hole. Use a whole egg to shape an oval hole on the salt.
Step 2. Separate egg white and yolk
- Now, crack eggs into a bowl. Gently separate egg yolks and whites. There are many ways to do it, using hands is the easiest one. Otherwise, you can remove egg whites from egg yolks using the shell, or a spoon. You can also crack the eggs on a grill/cooling rack and wait for the egg whites to drop down. Make sure there are no remaining whites around the yolks.
- Save the egg whites for later use in meringue frosting or simply poaching or frying. Transfer the yolks to the holes you prepared.
Step 3. Cover the yolks with salt
- Finally, cover the egg yolks with a layer of salt. Make sure your yolks are fully covered in salt. Close the lid of the box and keep it in fridge in 5-7 hours until 5 days. If you cure egg yolks with salt only, I recommend not to cure them longer than 1 day or else the yolks will be extremely salty. If you mix sugar, cinnamon or thyme in, you can keep them in longer time.
Step 4. Bake salted egg yolks
- After curing time, safely remove the egg yolks from salt. Rinse them under water until clear and check the textures of them. If you see a clear egg yolk with quite firm and sticky texture, you are successful. Pat them dry.
- Finally, bake them to remove any excess liquid inside the yolk. This is for longer preservation; if you plan to use the yolk immediately, you can skip this step. However, I recommend baking salted egg yolk, the texture would be firmer and less sticky.
- Bake it at 176°F (80°C) in 30 minutes until the yolks are fully dry. Finally, transfer them into a clean container and use in up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 2 salted eggsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 228
