Stinky Eggs - Extra Gross Edition
Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:49:04 am

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WARNING: If you are sensitive to grossness, do not read this.

My grandmother was rarely allowed to cook. She did it only once or twice a year. She usually made something that she called "Stinky Eggs". I suspect that the stench was from the addition of vinegar, but I'm not really sure. I know that the eggs were left unrefrigerated overnight prior to cooking, but I'm certain that the amount of rotting that could happen in one day would not cause that horrid scent.

Although I don't know the full recipe, I have watched certain parts of the process of making the stinky eggs. Salt is added to it and the eggs are beaten lightly for a few minutes. The resulting concoction is placed in a shallow enameled steel pan which is placed inside a bamboo steamer and steamed inside a wok. This low temperature cooking method has one very serious consequence. It does not kill parasites.

My grandmother always kept a bamboo fan near her during the summertime. She used it both to cool off her body and to swat at flies. We had many flies when I was young, because the windows that we had opened like doors. They were not the variety that moves up and down. This made it impractical to put up insect screens. We also didn't have air conditioners, so opening the windows was the only way to keep cool. We lived close to the East River and breezes came through the windows even during the hottest days of summer.

I did not witness how it happened, but I assume that my grandmother killed a pregnant fly with her bamboo fan and the maggots landed on her stinky eggs. When the horrid dish was presented at the dinner table, I first noticed tiny holes opening and closing. A few minutes later, tiny worms appeared. They were still alive and sticking their bodies up in the air to try to escape the heat of the eggs. The vision of writhing worms coupled with the general grossness of the stinky eggs made me feel ill.

I tried to warn my family, but they couldn't see the worms. Everyone in my family has poor eyesight except me, and they do not use their glasses when eating. I eventually convinced my sister to put on her glasses and she saw the worms too. My mother and grandmother ate the worm-infested stinky eggs. It was the only time I ever vomited from seeing something gross.