Soft Boiled Chinese Tea Eggs

Savory, subtly sweet, aromatic, aaand she pretty inside & out (°◡°♡) – 茶叶蛋 (CháYè Dàn), which translates to “Tea Eggs” are traditionally hardboiled in a marinade and sold as a street snack. This is a lil twist by making them ~soft boiled~ and stored in the marinade, making them more flavorful over time. So, you can prepare these in a batch to have for nourishing snacks / meals on hand during a busy week.

simplified ingredient version

sub dark soy sauce for light soy sauce (5 tbsp total)

• “light (regular) soy sauce” is used more for flavor VS. “dark soy sauce” (thicker, slightly sweeter), is used more to give food a deeper color. so including dark soy sauce will make vibrant marbling patterns, but is not necessary to achieve the same flavor.

sub aromatic spices for 1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder

• whole spices preserve not only flavor/aroma molecules better, but also their unique phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. Chinese five spice will absolutely work & will still taste yum, but you’ll get a richer, more authentic taste + more health benefits from using the whole spice

soft boiled Chinese tea eggs

thingslinadoes

Tea eggs are classic Chinese street snack, but here's a twist by making them ~soft boiled~

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook TIme 20 minutes mins

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 6 eggs room temp

Marinade

• 2 c water
• 2 tbsp black tea leaves (or 2 black tea bags)
• 1.5 tsp honey (or 2 tsp sugar)
• 1 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
• 3 tbsp light (regular) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (or sub light light soy sauce)

Aromatics

• 2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• 2 slices ginger
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 star anise
• Or, sub all whole spices for 1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice

Instructions

 

MARINADE

• Toast Sichuan peppercorns on low heat for 1-2 min (just until you see some smoking), to release its flavors
• Add the rest of the spices, black tea, honey, salt, light and dark soy sauce, and water. bring to a boil on med-high heat, then reduce to a simmer (lid on) for 15 min
  
• Let marinade cool completely (put in fridge or freezer to chill faster) while boiling eggs

SOFT BOILED EGGS

• Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil, and prepare an ice bath (ice + tap water)
• Using a spoon, add eggs to the pot (gently! so they don't crack). Set a timer for 5-6 min (to get soft boiled). When cooked, immediately transfer eggs into ice bath (to halt cooking) until cooled completely
• Using a spoon, tap the egg shell to create cracks, which will create the marbling pattern

MARINATE & CHIL

• Place chilled marinade + cracked eggs in airtight container (or a large ziploc). marinate eggs in the fridge for at least 1 day
  
• Peel the eggs when you want a snack. Or, add it to some hot rice, topped with whatever else you're feelin'
  

Notes

• Storing: eggs can be stored in the marinade up to ~5 days in the fridge (more time = deeper color and flavor)
• If you want to warm the eggs from the fridge, you can place them in warm water
• Reusing Marinade: marinade can be used again, especially if you use a clean spoon/hands when grabbing eggs. just simmer the marinade for 5-10 min before reusing

Keyword chinese, recipe, soft boiled, tea eggs