Kamayan Grill Filipino Cuisine, Neptune City, NJ
Fightin’ Texas A&M Aggie Ring ’84 wanted to shout out a special “Howdy!” to not only all his brother and sister Aggie Rings, but especially to all of the Aggie Rings out there who are lucky enough to be worn by Texas A&M graduates of Filipino ethnic origin. Aggie Ring ’84 doesn’t want to boast, but on this day of our Lord 11 June, 2016, Aggie Ring ’84 has set what might possibly be a first for all Texas A&M Aggie Rings — An Aggie Ring “Balut Ring Dunking!!!!”
You see, there’s a little Filipino buffet that Aggie Ring has been frequenting near where we live. Today, we went in and Aggie Ring spotted the duck eggs in a tray next to the cash register. Aggie Ring jumped right on top of one of them and shouted out for the entire store to hear, “This one belongs to this Aggie Ring, I’m calling it now!”
I asked Aggie Ring what it was (I could tell it was a duck egg by the size) and Aggie Ring explained to me, “There’s a delicious, traditional Filipino delicacy called “Balut” that is made from an 18-day old fertilized duck egg which is then cooked. Anyone lucky enough to be served one eats the compressed bird body, beak, feet, veins, and wings. It’s a real treat!” Aggie Ring has always said that anyone afraid to try the food of another culture is nothing but an old-school racist so how could I refuse? When I was in Asia, I ate the dog, if I were in the proper parts of Canada or Alaska, I’d eat the baby seal or whale.
“Are you sure you want to try it?” I asked Aggie Ring. He replied, “Damn right I’m sure, I will not walk out of this place without having Balut because that would make me a “Nancy Ring” and this Aggie Ring ain’t having none of that!”
Aggie Ring gave the egg to the clerk for her to take it to the kitchen and boil. As she was leaving she said, “It might help if you close your eyes when you eat it.” She obviously didn’t know Aggie Ring.
As Aggie Ring was finishing his meal, the clerk brought out the freshly boiled egg in a little tray. It was warm and quite heavy. Aggie Ring jumped right on top of the warm egg and said, “It’s so warm and hot, I can feel the heat from it throughout my shank and crest. This is going to be a treat. I’m not just having this Balut for myself, but for All Aggie Rings all over the world who might not ever have the chance.”
Selfless Aggie Ring volunteered the use of his very own ring crest to crack the shell of the egg without hesitation. Once the shell was removed, Aggie Ring jumped back on the good egg and cried out, “It smells so good… It smells like “victory!”” Aggie Ring was fascinated at the inside of the egg. There was the delicious yoke, of course, but there was also all of the veins and the little bird embryo. Aggie Ring pointed out its eyes, feet, head and wings. “It’s going to be delicious!” said Aggie Ring.
Aggie Ring put the insides of the egg into a little ramekin with plenty of vinegar and salt for the sacred Aggie Ring “Balut Ring Dunking.” Finally, it was time. I decided to ignore the clerk’s advice and shut my eyes while eating it so Aggie Ring and I proudly looked at the entire thing before I shoved it into my mouth. Aggie Ring and I can best describe the sensation as a variety of pleasures. The yoke was pretty much like a regular chicken egg yoke. The embryo had a variety of textures. Aggie Ring liked how the skin on the embryo was smooth and salty while the little bones in it were a bit crunchy.
After we finished, Aggie Ring said, “Oh, that was delicious. Narrow minded Americans don’t know what they’re missing out on.” “This is true.” I explained to Aggie Ring. “I’m fortunate to have been raised quite a bit by my grandmother whose family lost everything in the Great Depression. When her father and brothers were out working the fields, she’d hunt squirrels and possums to put meat on the table. She taught me at a young age to eat anything that the Lord blessed by giving to you. To turn your nose up at food is to spit into the eye of the Lord.
“Amen.” said Aggie Ring.
#AggieRing #TexasAggie #AggiesEverywhere
Kamayan Grill Filipino Cuisine, Neptune City, NJ
Fightin’ Texas A&M Aggie Ring ’84 wanted to shout out a special “Howdy!” to not only all his brother and sister Aggie Rings, but especially to all of the Aggie Rings out there who are lucky enough to be worn by Texas A&M graduates of Filipino ethnic origin. Aggie Ring ’84 doesn’t want to boast, but on this day of our Lord 11 June, 2016, Aggie Ring ’84 has set what might possibly be a first for all Texas A&M Aggie Rings — An Aggie Ring “Balut Ring Dunking!!!!”
You see, there’s a little Filipino buffet that Aggie Ring has been frequenting near where we live. Today, we went in and Aggie Ring spotted the duck eggs in a tray next to the cash register. Aggie Ring jumped right on top of one of them and shouted out for the entire store to hear, “This one belongs to this Aggie Ring, I’m calling it now!”
I asked Aggie Ring what it was (I could tell it was a duck egg by the size) and Aggie Ring explained to me, “There’s a delicious, traditional Filipino delicacy called “Balut” that is made from an 18-day old fertilized duck egg which is then cooked. Anyone lucky enough to be served one eats the compressed bird body, beak, feet, veins, and wings. It’s a real treat!” Aggie Ring has always said that anyone afraid to try the food of another culture is nothing but an old-school racist so how could I refuse? When I was in Asia, I ate the dog, if I were in the proper parts of Canada or Alaska, I’d eat the baby seal or whale.
“Are you sure you want to try it?” I asked Aggie Ring. He replied, “Damn right I’m sure, I will not walk out of this place without having Balut because that would make me a “Nancy Ring” and this Aggie Ring ain’t having none of that!”
Aggie Ring gave the egg to the clerk for her to take it to the kitchen and boil. As she was leaving she said, “It might help if you close your eyes when you eat it.” She obviously didn’t know Aggie Ring.
As Aggie Ring was finishing his meal, the clerk brought out the freshly boiled egg in a little tray. It was warm and quite heavy. Aggie Ring jumped right on top of the warm egg and said, “It’s so warm and hot, I can feel the heat from it throughout my shank and crest. This is going to be a treat. I’m not just having this Balut for myself, but for All Aggie Rings all over the world who might not ever have the chance.”
Selfless Aggie Ring volunteered the use of his very own ring crest to crack the shell of the egg without hesitation. Once the shell was removed, Aggie Ring jumped back on the good egg and cried out, “It smells so good… It smells like “victory!”” Aggie Ring was fascinated at the inside of the egg. There was the delicious yoke, of course, but there was also all of the veins and the little bird embryo. Aggie Ring pointed out its eyes, feet, head and wings. “It’s going to be delicious!” said Aggie Ring.
Aggie Ring put the insides of the egg into a little ramekin with plenty of vinegar and salt for the sacred Aggie Ring “Balut Ring Dunking.” Finally, it was time. I decided to ignore the clerk’s advice and shut my eyes while eating it so Aggie Ring and I proudly looked at the entire thing before I shoved it into my mouth. Aggie Ring and I can best describe the sensation as a variety of pleasures. The yoke was pretty much like a regular chicken egg yoke. The embryo had a variety of textures. Aggie Ring liked how the skin on the embryo was smooth and salty while the little bones in it were a bit crunchy.
After we finished, Aggie Ring said, “Oh, that was delicious. Narrow minded Americans don’t know what they’re missing out on.” “This is true.” I explained to Aggie Ring. “I’m fortunate to have been raised quite a bit by my grandmother whose family lost everything in the Great Depression. When her father and brothers were out working the fields, she’d hunt squirrels and possums to put meat on the table. She taught me at a young age to eat anything that the Lord blessed by giving to you. To turn your nose up at food is to spit into the eye of the Lord.
“Amen.” said Aggie Ring.
#AggieRing #TexasAggie #AggiesEverywhere