Bunny Pie
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!
8 Comments:
That's star anise in the (gorgeous) picture, right? Is that just for show, or is that what you mean by anise seed?
ah yes, i should have said star anise. for some reason i thought the two were interchangeable. i got mixed up!
...oh, i wish I was a kid eating my mom's tea eggs again
I first saw these tea eggs at the street vendors but never got to try any till I was in my late teens. I love them but I can only eat one as I find it too overpowering. I love the photo though!
That is so funny about smelling like a movie!
Mmm... you're making me really hungry for some tea eggs right now! :D My mom serves them with really thin sliced beef and a soy sauce mixture with vinegar and garlic on the side. Mm-mm-good! Thanks for sharing your recipes!
HI,
My wife is Chinese - a Chengdu native. She first introduced me to these tea eggs and I've adjusted the recipe quite dramatically. I boil the eggs in the black tea in our iron wok. The tea should get REALLY BLACK. then remove the eggs and remove the shells entirely - so they'll soak up more of the sauce. Add dark soy sauce, fresh squeezed ginger, salt 4 Star anise cloves, 2 fresh squeezed garlic cloves, about 4-6 tablespoons of honey (sweetness to your liking). I boil the eggs without their shells inside this conglomeration for about 20-30 minutes and add more water if necessary - also, sometimes I'll slice through the white part of the egg just so I get the knife into the center - so the yolk soaks the flavor in as well.
When I'm done, my eggs are literally jet black in color and the garlic, anise, sweetness and saltiness all light up your tastebuds wonderfully. I've also added hot peppers into the mix on occasion for those who love spice (I do) ...
Forget the BS of the cracking of the egg shell - just remove it - brings much more of the flavor into it.
Something my wife did was also used a crock pot and cooked them in my sauce all day - wow were they awesome!
-Matt
MMMM tea leaf eggs! I'e been living in Shanghai for the last few months and wonder why I've never had these back in America. The lady who makes them at my local convenient store starts them the night before and keeps them in the crockpot all night before selling them. I love the smell of the store in the morning!
Has anyone else tried making them without the shells? Or experimented with different tea?
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