Chinese tea eggs, also known as marbled eggs, are eggs (obviously) infused with the fragrance of Chinese herbs and spices. The first time I had this little treat, I bragged to my friends about how this was no ordinary egg…they were DRAGON EGGS! In my defense, I was a child and I was convinced that a dragon was sacrificed so I didn’t have to eat cafeteria food. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the eggs I ate were mere chicken eggs cooked in tea. Devastated, I banished this haunting memory to the recesses of my mind never to resurface again!
While on vacation, my family and I visited a Chinese restaurant that just so happened to offer these little morsels. As we ate, we laughed in remembrance of a time when life was simpler. What seemed so horrible when I was younger brought a smile to my face. I didn’t give it much thought after that. Right then and there…I was happy, truly happy.
Nostalgia turned into a call to action the next morning. I awoke the next morning in a hotel, nothing special. Half awake, I stumbled to the counter in the hopes of making the elixir of life (aka coffee). I glanced down at a few bags of black tea sitting in the basket and was awakened by how obvious my next recipe was. The instructions were clear…”Use these bags and make some dragon eggs!”
The result: dragon eggs or not, these were soooooo good! But I may be biased, try them and let me know.
- 8 Large Eggs
- 6 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 3 Whole Star Anise
- 3 Tea Bags Black Tea
- 1 Stick Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Chinese 5-Spice
- 4 Cups Water
- Place eggs into a pot that allows the eggs to not overlap. Then fill with warm water until the eggs are covered by 1 inch of water.
- Bring the water to a boil. Then remove and cover for 6 minutes.
- Quickly discard the water and shock the eggs in cold water.
- Using the back of a spoon, make cracks over your eggs.
- In the same pot bring all the ingredients to a simmer (excluding the eggs) for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and place the eggs into the pot. Allow the eggs to steep overnight.
- Peel and enjoy!
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