Travelling One Step At a Time

Why A Duck Egg Should Matter

My story tells of how a simple duck egg can have an impact on someone else’s life. It talks about the Filipinos’ strength, belief and faith that everything would turn out right in the end.

Nothing prepared me when I was asked to eat a duck egg. The duck egg or “balut” as called in the Philippines is a local delicacy where a15-day embryo is cooked and sold everywhere in the Philippines. For a little girl, eating something with a head, beak, feathers and (not to mention, a sister whose pet is a yellow duckling, unaware of its own specie about to be eaten just a few feet away), is traumatizing.

My fascination perchance for this local delicacy enabled me to take a closer look at how Filipinos lives and the eating of “balut” intertwine in the everyday course of life.

A new comer would be asked to try “balut” and if he eats it, the locals would accept him to the community. A father asked his daughter’s boyfriend to drink and have fun and with what else – Balut - and whatever the outcome would determine the lover’s fate.

What created an impact is seeing strangers huddling in the cold of the night, laughing and talking with one another as if lost friends while dining on freshly boiled duck egg.

Eating "balut" has long been integrated in the Philippine history and was introduced by Spaniards who colonized the country. For many Filipinos, "balut" develops character in being courageous enough to eat the egg. It can also mean camaraderie wherein one partakes of the delicacy during drinking sessions and develop friendships or renew old bonds.

Filipino males regard it as aphrodisiac and believe it would help increase their stamina and sexual prowess. For others, however, selling the "balut" helps pave the way for a full stomach and continuation of their kid’s education.

No matter the hardship in life, Filipino people are able to carry on living life with a smile and a little help from this little duck egg called "balut."