Chinese Tea Eggs

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

Chinese tea eggs are boiled eggs steeped in a savory black tea with star anise, cinnamon, and tangerine zest for a beautiful marbled surface and soft yolk.

Ingredients

3 cups water
2 tablespoons black tea leaves
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon black soy sauce
1 tablespoon tangerine zest
1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
2 pods star anise
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
8 large eggs

Directions

1 Gather all ingredients.
2 Combine 3 cups water, tea leaves, soy sauce, black soy sauce, zest, cinnamon stick, star anise, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3 hours.
3 Meanwhile, place eggs and remaining 1 teaspoon salt into a medium pot; cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4 Remove from heat, drain, and cool. Tap cooled eggs with the back of a spoon to crack shells; do not remove shells.
5 Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add eggs and let steep for at least 8 hours, or for a richer flavor, up to 1 ½ days.