Chinese Tea Eggs

The first time I saw Chinese tea eggs was on the blog One Girl One Kitchen, and I knew that I had to make these Chinese tea eggs with Little BBQ. The crackle effect on the eggs was visually stunning and perfect to make around Easter. However, I was worried that the Chinese tea eggs were going to taste weird with ingredients like soy sauce and star of anise combined together in the same dish. Fortunately, I was wrong. The Chinese tea eggs tasted great! The flavor of the Chinese tea eggs were subtle after 2 hours of simmering in the broth. The Chinese tea eggs tasted earthy and spicy. The individual flavors of the broth meld together beautifully to make one unique tasting egg. My original plan was to use the eggs on top of a salad, but they did not last that long in our house. Both Little BBQ and Miss Bubbles ate all the eggs in one sitting at lunch time. I was shocked because Little BBQ does not normally eat the yolk of hard boiled eggs, but he said the yolk in these eggs was good. I could not have imagined that the Chinese tea eggs were going to be this big of a hit in our house. I think we are going to make more Chinese tea eggs in the future.

Ingredients for Chinese Tea Eggs (makes 6 eggs) from One Girl One Kitchen

6 eggs
½ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp black tea leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger

Directions

1. Fill a pot with hot water. Gently place the eggs in the hot water. Bring the water to a boil; boil the eggs for three minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and place the eggs in an ice water bath. Reserve the cooking liquid.

2. Crack the eggshell by tapping gently on a hard surface (I used the corner of my countertop). Gently fragment all over the shell. The more cracks there are in the egg the more complex the design on the egg will appear.

3. Add all other ingredients to the cooking liquid, stir well and place the eggs back in. Boil the mixture. Then turn down the heat to a simmer and cover the eggs. Simmer the eggs for 1 to 3 hours, adding more water if necessary to keep the eggs always covered (I added more water 1 time). A longer simmering time will allow for a darker crackling color and more intense flavor. I simmered my eggs for 2 hours, and I thought the flavor was still pretty subtle.

4. Serve the eggs peeled and at room temperature.

Posted on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Get Your Craft On,Tutorial Tuesday , What's Cooking Wednesday What's Cooking Wednesday, Show and Tell Saturday, Hungry?, Sunday Showcase, Not Baaad Sundays, Just Another Meatless Monday, This Weeks Craving: Eggs, Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays, Easter link up party,