Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Hot Spring Eggs

Today I received a bagful of onsen tamago, hot spring eggs. As many hot springs as there are in Japan and as famous as these delicacies are, I'd never eaten one before. These particular eggs were boiled in the mineral rich hot springs in Hakone.

Here's the package. It reads simply, Black Eggs.


Here is what one looks like. All sulphur-black, yum!




However, after peeling it there was no real difference in color or taste.



But that doesn't mean there isn't a difference. My mother-in-law handed me that bag and told me the saying about onsen tamago, a legend if you will.


It goes:

If you eat one egg, your life will be extended by seven years.

If you eat two eggs, your life will be extended by fourteen years.

And if you eat three or more eggs, you'll be good until you die.
J and I agreed, we're stopping at two.


15 comments:

Gina said...

Ha ha ha, you are so funny! I have only had onsen eggs once before in my life. My neighbor (boy next door's family) brought us some, one summer. I tried one and I liked it. I think I only ate one. Noboru had 1 and Branden had 1. Now that you told us the legend. By which I never knew before (thank you for sharing that with us by the way, you truly know the coolest stuff) Now I wish I would have eaten 2, instead of just one! *winks* : )

Oyasumi nasai~

Matt said...

Those are cool. Black eggs. Yum.

So is that legend for two eggs FOREVER or just two in one sitting?

I suspect a great number of people have screwed themselves if it's the latter.

Kappa no He said...

Gina, you still have time!

Matt, yeah, in one 'lifetime'. My mother-law-delivered a bag of seven. So if we each ate two there would be one left over and we'd have to paper-scissors-rock to see who ate it...I'm not good at math but I'm sure she has it in for me.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Yeah but if you eat more than 2 you can also knock out the side of your house with the power of your black sulfur egg farts. Aren't I terrible?

Kappa no He said...

Ha! I was eagerly waiting a fart joke. Love you, Ello!

Mary Witzl said...

The school I worked for had a company rest house in Hakone, and we used it several times. Our kids still have fond memories of onsen tamago from Hakone. In particular, they remember the black bags they came in. They swear the eggs tasted special. The youngest is crazy about eggs and used to eat several in one go, so I can personally assure you that your MIL's saying is no more than a saying. Wish it had worked, though; we'd have been saved a lot of headaches.

Pat said...

So do you find them in the refrigerator section or on the shelf? I've never seen a bag of eggs before - much less black ones!

Loved Ello's comment, BTW...

Kappa no He said...

Mary, okay, now I'm going to have to go back and do a second taste test! Hakone is so lovely. I wish I could go more than I do. I bet you guys have the best memories from there.

Pat, you're going to love this. My m-i-l said they got 'fresh' ones meaning they actually pulled on a roped basket full of black eggs out of a hotspring right there in front of them!

laughingwolf said...

lol... i'd go for three, terrie ;)

is that similar to the chinese 'hundred year old eggs'?

i understand they just bury them, but not for 100 years!

Kappa no He said...

Oh, those 100-year old eggs wins hands down. Now there's (!) an acquired taste!

Frank Baron said...

How do they differ in price from regular eggs?

I'd stop at two as well. Unless I got to define what "good" meant. :)

Hilary said...

So if I'm understanding correctly, they're not necessarily all they're cracked up to be? Don't mind me... I'm just yolking around a bit. ;)

Jim Melvin said...

Being good for the rest of your life would be hell on earth, so I would have stopped at two as well!

Woman in a Window said...

HA! I think 2 is a good place to stop. That bag and that egg have me marvelling at how advertising is so different the world over and I'm thankful for this.

Intriguing little black egg.

Anonymous said...

haha ,I never heard or had one before, they sound interesting.... hey I missed ya, I sure hope you are well!!!!!