Tea eggs (茶叶蛋).

Marinated hard boiled eggs are a common snack throughout China.  While traditionally hard boiled, there is no reason these eggs can’t be made soft-boiled or onsen-style, as long as the egg whites are cooked enough to hold shape for peeling.

Chinese cooking frequently makes use of two different kinds of soy sauce, and this recipe is one such example.  The first is light or young soy sauce, which is the kind of soy sauce you’ll find everywhere in the US (not to be confused with soy sauce labeled as “light” in the US, which generally refers to a low sodium version of light soy sauce).  The second is dark or aged soy sauce, which has been aged longer and tends to be thicker, darker, less salty, and sometimes sweeter with the addition of sugar or molasses.  Dark soy sauce is used in Chinese cuisine to add color and depth of flavor to dishes that use light soy sauce.  Finally, sugar is commonly used in recipes primarily flavored by soy sauce to offset some of the sourness that can result from cooking soy sauce.

In a pinch, the dry spices in this recipe can be replaced with five spice powder for a similar flavor.  Don’t leave out the tea though!

Ingredients

• 6 eggs

For the marinade:

• ½ cup light soy sauce
• ¼ cup tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 piece of cinnamon bark
• 2 pieces of star anise
• 1 teaspoon red Sichuan peppercorn
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 black tea bags or 2 tablespoons of black tea leaves
• 3 cups water

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients for the marinade in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for another 5 minutes.  Remove tea bags if using bags, then let marinade cool.
2. Boil eggs in water to desired doneness, taking care not to crack eggs as you drop them in the pot.  If you’re doing soft-boiled eggs, I would recommend at least 6 minutes for a more set egg that is easier to peel.  Remove eggs, rinse and let sit in cold water.
3. Once eggs are cool, crack eggs thoroughly to allow marinade to penetrate.  Alternatively, for a quicker marinade, crack and peel eggs completely.  Place eggs in container or quart sized bag and pour marinade in to cover eggs completely.  Refrigerate and let marinade for 12 hours if completely peeled, or 24 hours if cracked but not peeled.  Eggs can be left in marinade for a few days if a more flavorful egg is desired.  If not peeled previously, peel eggs and serve.