How To Make Tea Egg
Elevate the way you make hard-boiled eggs by turning them into Chinese tea eggs. The eggs are deeply infused in a tea and soy sauce-based sauce. With this recipe, you can create the egg's same authentic marble look and have it as a snack or a light breakfast.
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 9 eggs
- 1 tbsp black tea leaves (or 1 black tea bag)
- 5 chopped green onions (2 inches long)
- 5 slice ginger
- 2 pc star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 bay leaves
- 7 dried chili peppers
- Water (to fill the pot)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
Instructions
- 1
If the eggs came from the fridge, let the chilled eggs come to room temperature.It is essential to bring the eggs to room temperature to prevent the shells from cracking during the boiling step.
- 2
Place the eggs in a pot and fill it with cold water. Make sure the eggs are fully submerged in water.
- 3
Bring the pot to a boil and let the eggs cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat, ensuring it maintains a gentle boil throughout.
- 4
When done, carefully drain the water.
- 5
Then, gently crack the eggshells using the back of the spoon. Making the cracks is essential to let the eggs fully absorb the sauce and create the marble pattern.
- 6
With the eggs in the pot, add tea leaves, green onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and dried chili peppers.
- 7
Fill the pot with water and add salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. The water should be enough to submerge the eggs.
- 8
Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes with the lid on.
- 9
After 20 minutes, turn off the heat.
- 10
Let it soak overnight for full flavor absorption and a more intense marble pattern. You can soak it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours. Do not soak for more than 24 hours; otherwise, the eggs will become too salty.
- 11
If the eggs are not fully covered with sauce, flip them halfway through the steeping time to submerge the other side of the egg.
- 12
When done steeping, remove the eggs from the sauce and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you have leftover sauce from steeping, you can reuse it for another batch of tea eggs. Store the leftover sauce in an airtight container and reuse it by boiling it again and adjusting the taste with additional seasonings. You may need to adjust the taste since the saltiness and flavors have lessened after cooking the first batch of tea eggs.