Following a recent business trip to Hong Kong, I have discovered yet another serving use for my egg plates. Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs are a popular snack served both on the street and in high-end restaurants and hotel in southern China and Hong Kong. They also make an easy meal when added to noodles.
The Tea Leaf Eggs are easy to make, easy to store in the refrigerator for a quick snack and are beautifully lacy served on a deviled egg plate. There are many recipes with slightly different combinations of spices and types of soy sauce, but the basic recipe is to:
boil eggs; crush the shells on the eggs;
simmer in a tea and soy sauce combination;
refrigerate in the liquid to let the color intensify into the cracks in the shells.
These Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs are served on a Fiesta Ware Chocolate Brown Deviled Egg Plate. The warm chocolate color accents the lacy brown markings on the tea eggs.![Tea Eggs]()
The following is a typical recipe although many other versions can easily be found on-line to suit your individual tastes.
Boil 6-8 eggs, then crush shells and simmer in liquid made from:
- 2 tea bags of black tea
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 pieces star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorn
- 2 to 3 strips dried or fresh mandarin peel
Always experiment with the amounts to get the taste you prefer. I removed the sugar and cinnamon and added a small hot pepper to the mixture. The type of soy sauce can also make a great difference in the taste. I prefer a lighter color, but heavier salt content, soy sauce. You should use the strongest black tea you can access. The Pu-er teas are excellent because of the strength and color.
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