皮蛋豆腐 Century egg with silken tofu

Century eggs (Chinese: 皮蛋; pinyin: pídàn; Jyutping: pei4 daan2), also known as preserved eggs, hundred-year eggs, thousand-year eggs, thousand-year-old eggs, millennium eggs, skin eggs, or black eggs, are a Chinese egg-based culinary dish made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing.

Through the process, the yolk becomes a dark green to grey color, with a creamy consistency and strong flavor due to the hydrogen sulfide and ammonia present, while the white becomes a dark brown, translucent jelly with a salty flavor. The transforming agent in the century egg is an alkaline salt, which gradually raises the pH of the egg to around 9–12, during the curing process. This chemical process breaks down some of the complex, flavorless proteins and fats, which produces a variety of smaller flavorful compounds.

Some eggs have patterns near the surface of the egg white which are likened to pine branches. These patterned eggs are regarded as having better quality than the normal century eggs and are called Songhua eggs, also known as pine flower eggs or pine-patterned eggs (Chinese: 松花蛋). In 2014, 3 million tons of Songhua eggs were consumed in China.

The method for creating century eggs likely came about through the need to preserve eggs in times of plenty by coating them in alkaline clay, which is similar to methods of egg preservation in some Western cultures. The clay hardens around the egg and results in the curing and creation of century eggs instead of spoiled eggs.

The century egg has at least four centuries of history behind its production. Its discovery, though not verifiable, was said to have occurred around 600 years ago in Hunan during the Ming Dynasty, when a homeowner discovered duck eggs in a shallow pool of slaked lime that was used for mortar during construction of his home two months before. Upon tasting the eggs, he set out to produce more – this time with the addition of salt to improve their flavor – resulting in the present recipe of the century egg. An alternate story involves a young duck farmer by the name of Shui ge (水哥, lit. water-brother), also from Hunan, leaving duck eggs in the garden of a woman by the name of Song mei (松妹, lit. pine-sister) as a courting gesture. The eggs were not discovered until the woman cleaned out the ash pit half a month later where they had turned into century eggs. In her honor, the farmer named the transformed eggs with their delicate crystalline patterns on their surfaces "pine-patterned eggs".

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