🍽️ Roast Egg

Charcoal-roasted eggs with salt, desert-edge snack.

Roast Egg is an unusual snack from the edge of the desert around Hotan, Xinjiang. Fresh eggs are buried directly in the warm sand or ash left beside a tandoor and slow-roasted until the white sets and the yolk stays slightly soft. Peeled, they are eaten hot with a sprinkle of salt or cumin. The white becomes firm with a faint smoky, char-grilled aroma, and the yolk dense and toasty — quite unlike a boiled egg. Simple and rustic, it reflects the resourceful cooking of the desert oasis. At Hotan's bazaars and night markets, roast eggs appear alongside skewers and naan, and are a curious, memorable taste of Xinjiang's desert edge.