Salted egg has long been a prized ingredient in Asian cuisines, punching up sweet and savory dishes with bursts of umami. Its buttery rich and briny yolk, which shines in vibrant hues of yellow and orange, is commonly found in Chinese mooncakes, rice porridge and zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). It’s the ingredient of the moment in Los Angeles — chefs have even stuffed it into French toast and coated fried shimeji mushrooms with it. Usually made with duck but sometimes chicken eggs, the whole egg or just the yolk can be cured with salt or soaked in a brine for days to months. When the yolk is mashed and heated with butter or oil, it transforms into a creamy and grainy sauce that’s earned the moniker “golden sand.”