How to Make Salted Duck Eggs (Itlog na Maalat)

Ever wondered why “itlog na maalat” is salty? Hmmm…I’m wondering why some of the ladies started to smile. I’m not talking about the other “itlog na maalat”, please let me make this clear just to be sure that everyone is with me. What I’m talking about are the red salted duck eggs that we usually eat along with “Kamatis” (tomatoes) and are sometimes placed on top of Special Puto (rice cakes). I hope that we are all in the right track now.

Salted duck eggs are not only made and sold in the Philippines. In fact, the Chinese were the first ones to do the procedure. They make the duck eggs salty by soaking it in brine or placing each egg in damp salted charcoal. However, the ingenuity and creativeness of the Filipinos led them to create their own method of salting duck eggs. This method involves the use of clay or “putik” mixed with salt and water.

The duck eggs are soaked in the clay mixture then cured for quite some time. The curing process takes several days wherein the eggs are placed in trays and stocked in a temperature regulated room. This process actually lets the egg absorb the salinity from the clay mixture. Once the eggs absorb the right amount of salt needed, they are boiled and painted.

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