Chinese Tea Eggs

Let’s start off the new year with one of my mom’s old recipes – hard boiled tea eggs! Delicious, really easy to make, but a bit time consuming. But hey, all I got is free time to spend in the kitchen. I much prefer these flavorful eggs, the taste and the appearance, to normal hard boiled eggs. Since they take 2+ hours to make, my mom would throw in 10 or 15 at a time, leave them on the stove on a low fire for what seemed like half the day, then we’d have enough eggs for the rest of the month.

Now if your mother was anything like mine, you probably never bought any food or went to a restaurant during your family vacations. But I very much doubt anyone had huge tupperwares filled with tea eggs and steamed buns and cold beef marinating in a vinegar sauce that occupied the backseat of the car. Typical vacation food. I’m not complaining though, everything my mother made was delicious.

I had the idea to try making these eggs in Spain after going back home for the summer. In August, my boyfriend, Luis, and I took a week long road trip to Nevada and Arizona and guess what we found waiting for us in the car? An ice chest filled with food, and lots and lots of eggs. Luis was a big fan. That means a lot because he’s one picky bastard. And if he likes it, I think you will too. So, let's get started!






Boyfriend approved!


INGREDIENTS//

+ eggs
+ black tea leaves (no green tea)
+ star anise
+ spicy peppercorn
+ soy sauce
+ salt

An advanced warning: I hate measuring ingredients, in fact I never do, which is why I'll never be a baker. For this recipe, if you're going to make... let's say 6 or 10 eggs, use two pinches of tea leaves, 2 or 3 pinches of salt, around 4 full star anises, a (very) small handful of peppercorn, and enough soy sauce until the water in the pot turns dark brown. Taste the water and make sure that it's salty, but not too salty.

You can find star anise and spicy peppercorn in most Asian supermarkets. If there isn't one nearby, you can find star anise in a spice and herb shop since it's a common ingredient in some teas. Replace the spicy peppercorn with normal peppercorn, but it might lose a bit of it's Chinese touch.


RECIPE//

Put the eggs in a large, deep pot - however many you want to make - and make sure they have space to move and do their eggy business. Add enough cold water in the pot so that it fully covers all the eggs. The trick to making good hard boiled eggs is to start off with cold water, not hot or already boiling. That way the shell comes off nice and clean afterward.

Leave the fire on high until the water starts boiling, then lower to medium. Let the eggs boil for four minutes then remove and rinse under cold water for about a minute. Once you're cool enough to touch, crack the eggs but DO NOT PEEL.

When the entire shell is covered with cracks, it's ready to go back in the pot with new cold water, not the hot water from before. Add the soy sauce and salt first. (Make sure to put the soy sauce in before the tea leaves.) Once the water starts boiling again, throw in the leaves, star anise, and spicy peppercorn.

Turn the fire down to low so that the water is still boiling. Cover the pot and leave on the stove for 2-3 hours. In fact, the longer you leave the eggs boiling, the better it will taste. Some people have been known cook these eggs overnight. The egg white will have a firm texture and the interior will crumble as you bite into it. Now get to it! Forget about the eggs for half the day and go read a book.