I seem to be on a roll in this column with talking about oft-maligned, malodorous foods common in Asian cuisine. Natto, for instance, being the most noxious of them all. Preserved duck egg is another one. It's not for everyone, but of course that's what makes it so special. More

Like curing meats, the practice of salting duck eggs may have started as a method of preservation, but now salted duck eggs are a delicacy. Salting makes the egg whites dense and almost rubber-eraser-like in appearance, but it's the yolks that are especially prized. There's nothing quite like a good salted duck egg yolk. If properly salted, the duck egg yolks are creamy, granular, and oily all at once—an intriguing textural composition that tastes especially rich and salty. More