茶叶蛋 / Tea Eggs¶
🖼️Image¶
✒️About This Recipe¶
Tea eggs start with hard-boiled eggs that are slightly cracked, then simmered in soy sauce, black tea, and warm spices. As the eggs steep, the liquid seeps under the shell, depositing a brown marbled pattern and a gentle tea-soy flavor.
Tea eggs are also an important cultural icon. You’ll find a pot of tea eggs almost everywhere in China, from breakfast shops and convenience-store counters to street-food stalls across China, they perfume the air and invite passers-by to grab one for breakfast or a quick snack. Their ubiquity even made them shorthand for everyday life: during the height of cross-strait tensions, a Taiwanese news segment claimed mainlanders “couldn’t even afford tea eggs”. The line quickly went viral because of the absurdity of the claim.
In short, this is the boiled egg at its cultural peak: simple to make, instantly recognizable, and loved across generations.
🥦Ingredients¶
Eggs [12]
Water [2 L]
🧂Seasoning¶
Star anise [3]
Cassia cinnamon [1]
Bay leaves [3]
Tea bags [3]
White pepper [1 tsp]
🔢Directions¶
Crack the big end of the eggs
Cook eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes
Crack eggs with a spoon, add seasoning and simmer for at least 30 minutes
Refrigerate and serve the next day