chinese tea eggs

Name: Chinese Tea Eggs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 12 - eggs; 4 cup(s) water; 6 tablespoon(s) soy sauce; 3 tablespoon(s) pu-erh tea, or other loose black tea leaves; 1 stick(s) cinnamon; 1 - star anise; 3 - whole cloves; 1/2 teaspoon(s) chinese 5 spice powder; 1 teaspoon(s) sugar

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13 Pinches 2 Photos

Beth Renzetti

Updated on Aug 17, 2014

Eggs symbolize fertility as well as prosperity for the Chinese, so any time there was an offering to the gods we would have that one dish with boiled eggs in them. Tea eggs are very Chinese New Year appropriate. I found this at The Tummy Train blog: http://thetummytrain.com/2014/01/30/happy-chinese-new-year-2014-some-january-food-discoveries/#more-7388. Prep time is nearly nothing. Cook time includes initial boiling of eggs & steeping in tea mixture combined - mostly unattended.

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photo courtesy of Clarisse at The Tummy Train.

prep time 5 Min

cook time 3 Hr

method Stove Top

yield 12 serving(s)

Ingredients

12 - eggs
4 cups water
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons pu-erh tea, or other loose black tea leaves
1 stick cinnamon
1 - star anise
3 - whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon chinese 5 spice powder
1 teaspoon sugar

How To Make chinese tea eggs

Step 1

1. Place 4 cups of water in medium pot and gently drop in the eggs. Make sure the water completely covers the eggs. Bring the water to a boil on high heat.

Step 2

Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes or so to make sure the eggs are fully cooked. Transfer the hard-boiled eggs out of the hot boiling water and rinse with cold water.
Step 3

Using the back of a teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell. The more cracks you make, the more marbled your eggs will be. Be careful not to crack the shells so much that they will completely fall off the eggs.
Step 4

Return the eggs to the water and add in the soy sauce, tea, and spices. Give it a gentle stir.
Step 5

Bring the tea mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow to steep for at least 2 hours. The longer the steeping, the better the taste.
Step 6

Serve immediately or leave the tea eggs in the mixture overnight to further develop the color and flavor. Bring the mixture to a boil again before eating as tea eggs are best enjoyed hot.
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