Tea Eggs

Right in time for Easter Egg season! Try these delicious Chinese tea eggs that are SUPER EASY to make and a delight to eat for breakfast or as a snack. These marble stained eggs are really unique and have wonderful subtle flavors of the braising liquid including the earthy tea, sweet spices, and a slight saltiness form the soy sauce.

The key to this dish is the crackled shell which serves two important purposes: 1) increase absorption of the braising liquid into each egg to maximize flavor, and 2) make these magical web-like patterns after you peel the shell. Yes! It’s real treat to peel each one and admire their signature marbled look.

A lot of the ingredients for the braising liquid can be found at your local Asian grocery store or ethnic store, but if you don’t have one locally I provided links for each one you can find online in the ingredients list below.

I like to use Chinese black fermented tea such as Pu’er to give it that extra earthy flavor. But if can’t find any or don’t have it on hand you can also use any neutral black tea bags such as English Breakfast or Orange Pekoe and it’ll taste just as good. Just place two of these tea bags directly into the braising liquid – just remember to remove the string and tag!

These eggs are a really great way to jazz up your boring hard boiled egg breakfast. I like to make a stock of these on Sunday night and enjoy them throughout the week. These tea eggs keep really well in the fridge and their flavors become more intense with each day they sit in the braising liquid. Hope you give this recipe a try and share with your friends and family!

Tea Eggs

Prep time: 5 min     
Cook time: 20 h    
Total time: 25 min    
Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 tbsp black loose leaf tea or 2 black tea bags
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 cups water

Instructions

1. Hard boil the eggs either in water or with an egg steamer.
2. Meanwhile in a pot, add in all the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Once eggs are cool enough to handle, gently crack the surface of each egg on all sides and place them in with the stewing liquid. Add more water if needed to just cover the eggs.
4. Continue to stew the eggs on a low simmer for 20 min then turn off the heat.
5. Let the pot naturally cool to room temperature and place in the fridge overnight.
6. Enjoy the eggs at room temperature the next morning for breakfast!

**Note: These eggs can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for 3-5 days while soaked in the braising liquid. They become even more delicious and flavorful with time as they continue to marinade.