FOOCHOW SALTED EGG - CHOW LONN

Foochow people love their red rice wine

so much so that

other than cooking with it,

they also preserve vegetables, CHOW CHAI 

and 

eggs, CHOW LONN

with the red rice wine residue or lee.

Many of us like salted egg.
Some like it hard boiled to eat with plain porridge,
others like it smashed up and cooked with porridge
or
steamed with meat

More additions to the list include:
steaming together 3 types of eggs, salted, century and hen egg
and
deep fried salted egg yolk chicken or prawns


This is my grandmother's preparation
of Foochow salted egg, Chow Lonn

This is just duck egg salted with the residue (lee) from red yeast rice wine.
If you soak it longer the egg white will turn pinkist
and the wine taste will be stronger
but
the egg will be too salty

My grandmother is a Hu Chew Noin
She came from Fuzhou,
China

She married and stayed in "San Tiaw Lu", today better known as Simpang Tiga,  Sitiawan. When my grandfather passed away, the youngest uncle was only a toddler.  She single handedly raised up her 7 children, 6 boys and a girl. Although she could not afford to send her children to university education, all of them were able to learn, and master a skill to earn a good living.

Her cooking is more of simple and with inexpensive ingredients.  Nevertheless, all of us grandchildren, including her own children missed the dishes she prepared for us during Chinese New Year celebration. Simple it might be, but it was prepared with much patience and abundance of her love for us.

Here is her recipe if you are interested

Chow Lonn
400 ml water
175-200g salt
5 duck eggs, wiped clean
5-10 Tablespoon wine residue (CHOW)

1) Boil together salt & water
2) leave to cool
3) put eggs in a bottle
4) mix wine residue (Chow) into the cooled brine
5) pour onto the eggs in the bottle & cover
6) the eggs will be ready16-21 days, depend on how saltish you like
7) hard boil to enjoy

Note:
1. chow lonn has a wine taste and is usually enjoyed with plain porridge
2. chow or rice wine residue can be omitted to make plain salted egg.