“Everything is better with salted egg yolks,” Max Falkowitz of the food website Serious Eats (www.seriouseats.com) declared last year.
After exalting salted eggs for their flavor, texture and “special magic,” the New York-based Falkowitz wrote, “Could more chefs catch on to the idea some day?”
“Who wants to bet this’ll be the new fad?” one Serious Eats reader commented.
But what they see only as potential trend is already staple in the Philippines. The Pinoy palate is no stranger to salted eggs—we consume it regularly, whether we like it or not.
The salt-brined itlog na maalat hides inside bola-bola siopao and mooncakes, and tops our favorite bibingka. It’s served as side dish or salad, mixed with tomatoes and often eaten with dried fish and rice.
“Salted egg and tomatoes are my family’s back-up ulam,” a friend told us.
Singapore is another salted egg-loving country. It’s so popular there that Knorr even sells Golden Salted Egg Powder in packets.
Although salted egg is traditionally used in Chinese cooking to add flavor to (usually battered and fried) seafood and chicken dishes or as dim sum filling, chefs in Singapore have been having fun playing with it as an ingredient, coming up with inventive offerings such as salted egg fries, pizza, donuts, cake, waffles and even ice cream.
The same is true in the Philippines. We’re seeing more and more salted egg dishes pop up on menus and not just in Chinese restaurants, leading us to wonder: Will salted egg become the next salted caramel or cookie butter?
Whether you want to celebrate your love for salted egg or you want to finally learn to like itlog na maalat, here are eight salted egg dishes you can try:
Salted Egg Pasta by Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza
Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza is burrata and pizza heaven but you can go there for your salted egg fix, too. This comforting mix of fettucini, bacon, salted egg, cream and parmesan is a great choice for salted egg newbies.
The flavor isn’t overpowering and the pasta is so creamy that it might just convert people who thought they hated itlog na maalat.
You can also order: The burrata. You can enjoy it several ways—caprese, with strawberries, with the house salad or summer salad or served with bread and arugula.
And the pizzas, of course. We like the SMEGG pizza—homemade sausage, mushroom, eggs, gouda and cream on a chewy brick oven-baked crust.
Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza is at 2/F, K2 Bldg., 341 Katipunan Ave., Quezon City; The Podium, ADB Ave., Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City; Salcedo Village, G/F, Finman Center, 117 Tordesillas cor. Bautista Sts., Salcedo Village, Makati City.
Salted Egg Chicken Wings by Kwong’s Provision
We discovered with great sadness that Kwong’s Provision’s Fried Salted Egg Lava Pao is no longer on the menu.
But Kwong’s, one of our favorite Hole in the Wall stalls, has other salted egg treats. It has addicting Salted Egg Chicken Wings, served with sweet sauce.
Its Salted Egg Chicken Chop, served with rice, is a bestseller, too.
You can also order: Maki Mi, the Lazy Chili Crab with Mantao and our forever favorite Soft-Shell Po Boy.
Kwong’s Provision is at Hole In The Wall, 4/F, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Ave., Makati City
Salted Egg Chicken Skin and Salted Egg Chicken Skin Garlic Flat Bread by Backyard Kitchen and Brew
Backyard Kitchen and Brew serves Salted Egg Chicken Skin with pineapple vinegar. If you like crispy chicken skin, this is a must-try. It’s great on its own as an appetizer or pulutan (pair it with different beers). We’d totally eat this with garlic rice, too.
You might want to order more than one serving for your table—we guarantee this will disappear super fast.
Chef Ed Bugia’s Salted Egg Chicken Skin Garlic Flat Bread is worth a try, too. It’s like pizza topped with chicken skin, cherry tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella, fresh egg and salted egg.
You can also order: The Nose to Tail Fettucini which uses fresh pasta and is packed with the rich flavors of pork cheek, ox tripe, beef brisket and chicken liver.
Backyard Kitchen and Brew is at UP Town Center, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.
Salted Egg Wings by Route 196
They’re tangy like buffalo wings but instead of the fiery red sauce, these breaded chicken wings were tossed in salted egg sauce.
No spice, just that rich texture that would be great when washed down with cold beer. Enjoy them while you watch your favorite local acts perform in this bar.
You can also order: The garlic and cheese pizza, so thin and so good. Tinapa rolls, deviled chicken and a pitcher of LTO, Route 196’s killer lychee cocktail.
Route 196 is at 196-A Katipunan Ave. Extension Blue Ridge A, Quezon City.
Salted Egg
Pork Ribs
Salted Egg Pork Ribs and Salted Egg Chinese-Style Fried Chicken by Wee Nam Kee
Wee Nam Kee is originally from Singapore so we weren’t surprised to find salted egg dishes on its menu. There are two: Salted Egg Pork Ribs, and Salted Egg Chinese-Style Fried Chicken.
The boneless fried chicken pieces are smothered in creamy, buttery salted egg sauce with a hint of ginger. The pork ribs are tossed in a chunkier salted egg sauce that isn’t as creamy or as buttery as the chicken.
Both were wonderful when eaten with Wee Nam Kee’s chicken rice. We couldn’t decide which one we like more.
You can also order: Hainanese chicken. There’s an Unli Hainanese Chicken promo for P299 for the steamed and roasted chicken. And the cereal prawns and honey crispy squid.
Wee Nam Kee is at Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati Ave., Makati City; Serendra, McKinley Parkway, Taguig City; Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City; Trinoma, Quezon City; Greenhills Promenade, Annapolis St., San Juan City; Ayala Fairview Terraces, Maligaya Drive cor. Quirino Highway, Quezon City.
Salted egg parfait by Le Petit Soufflé
Chef Miko Aspiras doesn’t kid around with flavors. When he calls something “salted egg,” he means it. Le Petit Souffle’s Salted egg parfait is strong on the salted egg flavor—a must for serious itlog na maalat fans.
There’s a symphony of textures and flavors in this glass, thanks to the dreamy combination of vanilla custard softee, salted egg custard, burnt caramel, candied walnuts, almond dacquoise, Valrhona Caramelia pearls and vanilla bean powder. A sweet way to end our salted egg adventure.
You should also order: Foie Gras Mac and Cheese, Japanese Boeuf Curry Soufflé, Valrhona Guanaja Soufflé and Valrhona Grand Crus.
Le Petit Soufflé is at 3/F, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Ave., Makati City.
More salted egg goodness
Other dishes you can try: Mabuhay Palace’s salted egg ice cream with black sesame paste at the Manila Hotel; Pino’s crispy shrimps with salted egg; Locavore’s salted egg dulce de leche; Commons’ tinapa salted egg rolls; Crystal Jade Dining In’s baked prawn or lobster with salted egg yolk; Lorenzo’s Way’s salted egg alimango; Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight’s sauteed shrimp or crab with salted egg yolk; Spring by Ha Yuan’s salted egg lava pao.