Dry goods & condiments
Century Egg (Pidan)
An alkaline-preserved egg also called thousand-year or lime-preserved egg; peeled white is dark translucent brown and the yolk grey-green to dark.
- 繁體中文
- 皮蛋
- English
- Century Egg (Pidan)
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Telur Pitan / Century Egg (皮蛋)
- Tagalog
- Century Egg / Pidan (皮蛋)
What is it?
An alkaline-preserved egg also called thousand-year or lime-preserved egg; peeled white is dark translucent brown and the yolk grey-green to dark.
How to identify it
Shell appearance varies with coating and packaging, so do not identify it by shell alone. Check for 皮蛋/松花蛋; the dark translucent white appears after peeling.
- Dark translucent brown egg white when peeled
- Grey-green to dark soft yolk
- Package clearly identifies century egg
Common confusion
Century egg has a dark translucent white; cooked salted egg usually has opaque white and a salty orange-red yolk.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Used in century-egg congee, cold tofu dishes and appetisers.
Preparation or handling
Buy from a reliable source and check whether the label says ready-to-eat. Peel and cut with clean utensils; heat if the label requires it.
Storage
Follow the package label; refrigerate after opening or peeling and use promptly.
Helper tip
Century egg is not salted egg. Trust the package and the peeled interior, not shell colour.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買皮蛋，唔係鹹蛋。Buy century egg with the characteristic dark translucent white, not salt-cured egg.
Useful market phrase
Is this 皮蛋, and is it ready to eat?Does the image look correct?
Last reviewed
Sources
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items - Other Foods
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items Multilingual Booklet
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Other foods Cantonese pinyin
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Heavy Metals in Lime-preserved Eggs
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Food Safety of Eggs and Egg Products