Title: Preserved duck eggs (thousand year old eggs)
 Categories: Eggs, Chinese
      Yield: 12 Servings
 
      2 c  Tea, very strong black
    1/3 c  Salt
      2 c  Ashes of pine wood
      2 c  Ashes of charcoal
      2 c  Fireplace ashes
      1 c  Lime*
     12    Duck egg, fresh
 
  *Available in garden stores and nurseries.
  
  Combine tea, salt, ashes and lime. Using about 1/2 cup per egg,
  thickly coat each egg completely with this clay-like mixture. Line a
  large crock with garden soil and carefully lay coated eggs on top.
  Cover with more soil and place crock in a cool dark place. Allow to
  cure for 100 days. To remove coating, scrape eggs and rinse under
  running water to clean thoroughly. Crack lightly and remove shells.
  The white of the egg will appear a grayish, translucent color and
  have a gelatinous texture. The yolk, when sliced, will be a
  grayish-green color.
  
  To serve, cut into wedges and serve with:
  
  Sweet pickled scallions or any sweet pickled vegetable
  
  Sauce of 2 tablespoons each vinegar, soy sauce and rice wine and 1
  tablespoon minced ginger root.
  
  Preserved Ancient Eggs
  
      These are often called thousand-year eggs, even though the
  preserving process lasts only 100 days. They may be purchased
  individually in Oriental markets.
  
      The description of the whites turning grayish isn't quite
  accurate from the ones I've seen. They're more a dark blackish amber
  color-- quite attractive actually.