Poang tear paik .
(Salty eggs.)

Fresh eggs soaked with salt and water, and then set out in the hot sun for period of time before cook is ancient Khmer preserving technique. In the ancient time, long before the rising of the Khmer Empire, salt was more expensive than gold around the world, but not in Cambodia. Many merchants from different countries around the world came to trading center of *Oc Eo* at *Karmourn Sor*(Rach Gia)province in *Khmer Kampuchea Krom* (now know as South Viet Nam)to buy and trade mainly salt. They also trade, silk, honey, and many other Khmer goods (around 200 B.C). Boiled salty eggs were giving to the merchants as good luck token when their ships departed Cambodia.
Boiled salty eggs use for religious food offerings. Khmer Buddhist believe throws salt in front and around the house will prevent evil spirits from enter home.
Most Khmer Krom cook plain rice soup *borbo sor* and boiled salty eggs for their sick member to speedy recover from illness. Sino-Khmer put boiled salty egg yolks in moon-cake for children to eat for good luck, and to wards off evil spirits.
• Ingredients :
  • 1 Cup of salt
  • 8 Cups warm water
  • 1 dozen fresh egg
• Procedures :
  Mix salt with water in a large jar or contain.
  When the salt dissolved, carefully put egg in salt water jar, covered jar with lid, put it under hot sun for 2 to 3 weeks before ready cook. The longer it out the sun the saltier the eggs.
  If you don’t like the idea of curing eggs out the sun, put egg jar in refrigerator for 4 months before ready to cook. Eggs take longer to get salty if you refrigerated it.
  To cook, put salty eggs in a pot of water, boiled for 30 minutes, salty eggs also take longer to cook, when egg cooked, soaked in cold water before peeled off shells or cut egg in half before serve.
  Serve with plain rice soup or with rice.