I remember when I was young, I ate all kinds of eggs, so I never had the concept of eggs as a delicacy or souvenir.
As for egg products, I have never been able to get rid of them. But when I heard "Grandma's Iron Egg" for the first time, I had the urge to try it. What is an iron egg and how could someone come up with this name? Later, I went to the Grandma's Iron Egg store in Tamsui because of its reputation. Oh my god, how come everyone has one bag, and every tourist has one box? It’s really not an exaggeration. I finally bought a pack and it felt like all the eggs were concentrated versions that were several sizes smaller. It had a very special texture, chewy and full of tea aroma. If you have the opportunity to go to Tamsui, you must eat and play with one of Tamsui’s delicacies - Grandma Tiedan.
Iron eggs are egg snacks derived from braised eggs. The preparation of iron eggs is very time-consuming. The braised ingredients containing soy sauce and five-spice formula must be used every day. After three hours of brine process, they are then blown dry with a fan. They must be cooked every day. This process lasts for one week to complete the iron egg production.
The origin of grandma’s iron eggs is said to be that Ms. Yang Biyun, who ran a breakfast shop and sold braised eggs by the ferry bow, accidentally braised the eggs for too long. Because the sea breeze kept blowing the braised eggs, the smaller they became. It turned into a braised egg that became harder and darker, and the black and hard braised egg tasted very delicious. After that, Ms. Yang called the egg "iron egg".
Unexpectedly, customers would like this chewier and more delicious black braised egg. Later, after being interviewed by the "Minsheng Daily", he wrote a report in 1983 with the title "Grandma's iron egg, she insisted on it." The report attracted the attention of many people, and some Japanese media even went to Taiwan to cover it. After that, the iron egg became a famous snack in Tamsui.
