CHINESE TEA LEAF EGGS 茶葉蛋
茶葉蛋 Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs are delicious, fragrant and ridiculously effortless to make! Make these perfect creamy unctuous texture soft-boiled marbled eggs in just 10 minutes - gluten-free adaptable!
- Prep time
- 2 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8 eggs
- 2 slices ginger
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoon black tea leaves
- 1 teaspoon sichuan peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp shaoxing wine
- 3 cups of water (or enough to submerge the eggs)
Instructions
- 1
In a small pot, add all the ingredients except the eggs. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to low-medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 2
Once done, remove and discard the tea bags.
- 3
Set aside and let cool completely.
- 4
Boil a large pot of water.
- 5
Carefully place the eggs into the boiling water and cook for exactly 6 minutes and 50 seconds. Stirring slowly to distribute heat evenly for the first minute.
- 6
While the eggs are cooking, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
- 7
Transfer the eggs to the ice bath to cool.
- 8
Cook your eggs in a sous vide machine (like this one).
- 9
Bring the water to a constant 63 degrees Celsius (145.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 10
Submerge your eggs in a sous-vide safe plastic bag and let the eggs hang out there for an hour.
- 11
Once the eggs are cool, gently crack the eggs by tapping the shell with the back of a spoon. The eggs are still very soft, if you crack it too hard, you may break the eggs.
- 12
Make sure the eggs shells are cracked enough so the marinade can seep into inside and marble the eggs. You can also opt to peel the eggs and marinate the eggs without any shells.
- 13
Place the cracked eggs into a container, then pour the marinade in until the eggs are completely submerged.
- 14
Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Marinate longer for two to three days if you prefer a thicker egg yolk. The eggs will become more flavourful and saltier over time.