Chinese tea eggs have been a common street food in Asia for many years with every country and region having a slightly different take on this beautifully marbled snack. Like tea, the flavours and methods vary. If you’re like me and prefer simple and salty tastes, the only flavouring and colouring ingredients you might use are tea and soy sauce. However, if you enjoy something with a bit more character, a variety of spices can be added.
The recipe I’m going to share is designed by me and based on my tea egg preferences. If you need something a little more exciting, consider adding some cinnamon, cloves, Szechuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, nutmeg, or even different kinds of tea.
Connor’s Tea Egg Recipe
What you need:
Step 1 – With a spoon, gently crack the outside of the each egg’s shell so it is still on the egg. When you’re done, it should look like a crazed ceramic glaze. This is what causes the beautiful marbled pattern that tea eggs are known for. The more cracks are in the shell, the more marbling will be on the finished egg.
Step 2 – Put the eggs and all of your other ingredients into the pot and bring to a simmer. There should be enough liquid in the pot to cover the eggs with a couple of inches to spare.
Step 3 – Simmer for 30 minutes with a closed lid to keep all the heat and flavour as close to the eggs as possible.
Step 4 – Remove eggs and peel them once they’re cool enough. The peeled tea eggs should be beautifully marbled and scented like the ingredients that were with them in the pot.
Step 5 – Eat them hot, or put them in the fridge to be enjoyed later! I like to eat a tea egg with my usual breakfast of fruit, oatmeal, cold tea, and Greek yogurt, or as a quick and filling afternoon snack.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and experiment to find your own perfect ingredient combination and serving method. Share your recipes and ideas in the comments below!
Very interesting and creative Connor. This is the first tea egg recipe that I’ve ever seen. My husband is a huge hard boiled egg fan and a major tea lover so I’ll surprise him with this over the week-end. I think he’s going to be blown away. Hope I can keep the secret long enough…….
Thank you Michelle. Let me know how it goes! I’m a boiled egg fan as well. I love to eat them chopped over salads!
Tea eggs ARE wonderful and on August 22, 2008, Regena Rafelson wrote a post for T Ching, “Tea eggs are delicious.” Recipe included. Also personally delivered two of the eggs to Sandy. That post was republished in 2012. Because of the immediate nature of social media, it is always good to revisit good ideas. So glad to see this recipe again, revisited by a new tea-explorer!
I’ve found that bringing plain water to a boil and boiling the eggs for just three minutes sets the whites a bit, then take them out of the water (hot, hot) and whack them with the spoon. After that, add the remaining ingredients and follow Connor’s recipe. You can boil them for hours, if you keep adding water to keep them covered. The longer you boil, the more pronounced the flavours.
These tea eggs look really exotic! The soy sauce version sounds like it would be great on a spinach salad
Great idea!
Thank you for posting the recipe! I love tea eggs and I was looking for a well explained recipe like this.
Glad you found it helpful!