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chinese tea eggs

(1 rating)
elmotoo avatar
Recipe by
Beth Renzetti
@elmotoo

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.

(1 rating)
yield 12 serving(s)
prep time 5 Min
cook time 3 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For chinese tea eggs

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

How To Make chinese tea eggs

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 4
    Return the eggs to the water and add in the soy sauce, tea, and spices. Give it a gentle stir.
  • 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.
  • 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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