Fertilized duck embryos: one of Cambodia's favorite snacks

Sunday, 25 December 2011
Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, (Cambodia Herald) - Enjoyed by young and old alike, fertilized duck embryos are a common snack in Cambodia. Usually consumed between lunch and dinner, pong tia koun, literally baby duck eggs, are traditionally boiled and eaten from the shell with salt, pepper, limes and herbs such as mint.

But since the embryos are so popular, new recipes with other ingredients are emerging. Sak Molyna, who runs a tiny restaurant in a side street near the Russian Market, serves a classical dish and a new one where the embryos are covered with flour and deep fried.

“It tastes great," says a customer visiting the restaurant for the first time. Around him, about 20 customers, mostly students and office workers, are eating all sorts of snacks from fried chicken wings, eggs and mushrooms to meat balls and shellfish. More than half of the customers have fertilized duck embryos on their tables.

Ouk Rany, a 23-year-old office worker sitting with two friends, was meanwhile feasting on boiled embryos with salt, pepper, lime and herbs accompanied by less traditional garnishes such as pickled garlic, carrots, young bananas and cucumbers. “I love eating baby duck eggs because they taste good and are good for my health,” she said.

Dy Sreypich, 20, was also eating boiled embryos. While the university student said she did not like them very much, she agreed that they were good for her health. “Baby duck eggs make me feel more energetic than other foods," she said.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, many Cambodian men believe baby duck eggs are an aphrodisiac as do many men in other parts of Southeast Asia, notably neighboring countries Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the Philippines.

A embryo fan in his in late 20s said he was convinced that the eggs had aphrodisiac qualities but grew quiet and declined to go into details when he saw female customer coming. “You can try and you will feel it,” he said.

A journalist in his 30s, who asked not to be named, said there was no doubt that the embryos helped to increase sexual desire. “Believe it or not, if I ate baby duck eggs and had enough to drink when I was young, oh god, I could do it eight times a night,” he said.