When it comes to food, I try to stick to my “don’t knock it until you try it” philosophy…but when it comes to Chinese “virgin eggs,” I think I’ll make an exception. Here’s why.
These eggs are boiled in the urine of young boys. In one Chinese city, this dish is considered a delicacy.
For hundreds of years, the people of Dongyang have enjoyed their favorite springtime snack, tong zi dan…which roughly translates to “boy egg.”
The cooking process involves boiling the eggs in urine, cracking them, and then placing them back into the urine pot to absorb as much flavor as possible.
How do they collect the pee? Glad you asked! Buckets are set outside of elementary school classrooms and boys are encouraged to discharge into them between classes. The buckets are then collected by local restaurants.
The locals claim that tong zi dan is beneficial to one’s health, but doctors aren’t so sure. There’s a reason why our bodies get rid of urine, after all.