Sweet and Savory Tea Eggs

• portions: 4 servings
• temps actif: 15 minutes
• temps total: 1 day 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingrédients

2 cups (475 ml) Chinese light soy sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) Chinese dark soy sauce

6 cups (1.4L) water

1 cup light brown sugar (7 1/2 ounces; 213 g)

One 3-inch piece ginger (2 1/2 ounces; 70 g), cut into 1/4-inch segments

One 3-inch piece galangal (1/2 ounce; 15 g), cut into 1/4-inch segments (see notes)

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

10 cloves

6 star anise

Two 3-inch pieces cassia bark, see notes

1 1/2 ounces (40g) loose leaf tea, such as tie guan yin, xiang pian or pu-erh, see notes

12 large eggs

Instructions

In a medium pot, combine light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ginger, galangal, fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, and cassia bark. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer until deeply infused with the fragrance of the spices and aromatics, about 20 minutes.

Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain liquid into a heatproof container or bowl. Add tea leaves and let steep until leaves unfurl and liquid is aromatic, about 15 minutes. (If using black or oolong tea, add tea leaves immediately. If using a more delicate tea, such as jasmine, let liquid cool slightly to 158 to 176°F/70 to 80°C before adding tea.)

Meanwhile, set up an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, gently lower eggs into water and cook to your desired doneness: 6 minutes for soft-boiled, 7 minutes for jammy yolks, or 11 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Using slotted spoon or strainer, remove eggs and immediately place in ice bath. Allow eggs to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Using the back of a spoon, firmly tap eggshells all over to form defined cracks. (There should be cracks but the eggshell should still be in one piece.) Place eggs in tea mixture, cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the eggs have developed a distinct marbled appearance and are well seasoned, about 24 hours. Let eggs sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

WHY IT WORKS

Using high-quality loose leaf tea produces a flavorful marinade for the eggs.

Tapping the eggshells firmly creates well-defined cracks, giving the eggs their distinct marbled appearance after they’ve marinated.

The Best Tea to Use for the Marinade

The steeping liquid for the eggs generally consists of loose leaf oolong tea, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and spices, though the exact combination used varies from place to place and cook to cook. Because tea is the most dominant flavor here, using high-quality loose-leaf tea—which is more robust and nuanced than most bagged teas—is essential. The type of tea can vary: many tea egg traditionalists recommend black tea, oolong is often used in Taiwan, and some prefer jasmine tea for its floral profile. Pu-erh is a great choice if you want to use black tea, and I’ve used both Tie Guan Yin, an oolong tea, and Xiang Pian, a fragrant mixture of green tea leaves and jasmine blossoms. Both worked well: The Tie Guan Yin eggs were subtly smoky, while the Xiang Pian eggs had delicate floral notes. Ultimately, you can use whichever tea that you like; what matters more than the kind of tea you use is its quality. While some believe that the type of tea affects the colour of the tea eggs (the darker the tea, the darker the eggs), its effect on the color of the eggs is fairly minimal; rather, how much soy sauce you use in the marinade is a more important factor.