tea eggs

chinese tea eggs

as a small one, i used to spend my summers and a lot of other holidays in taiwan. for breakfast on many days we had tea eggs. vendors in alleyway markets or on the roadside would sell them. the convenience stores had really good ones too. they are basically eggs carefully cracked and then slow boiled in a mixture of tea, soy sauce and anise seed. once done and peeled, you'll see that the egg will have absorbed the flavors and it will have produced a nice marbling effect. making these will make your whole house smell like a beautiful asian movie.


4-6 eggs
1/4 C soy sauce
1/3 C brewed black tea like oolong
one star anise


1. place eggs in pan and cover with water and bring to a boil. take off heat and cover. let set for 10 minutes.
2. take a spoon and carefully crack the egg all over while still in the pan. do not drain the water. pour in soy sauce, tea and anise seed and bring back to a boil. lower heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours, mixing occasionally.
3. leave in warm mixture until ready to serve or you can keep these in the fridge for a couple of days. double happiness!