Recipe courtesy of
Andy Liang
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Andy Liang
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Tea Eggs
Getting reviews...
- Level: Easy
- Total: 9 hr (includes cooling and overnight soaking)
- Active: 30 min
- Yield: 12 eggs
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 86
- Total Fat
- 5 g
- Saturated Fat
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 3 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Protein
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 186 mg
- Sodium
- 734 mg
Tea eggs, known as caa jip daan in Cantonese, are a popular Hong Kong and Chinese street food found warming in a cauldron of soy sauce and tea for a quick breakfast or on-the-go snack. The eggs get their recognizable marbled look and deep flavor from a long steep in a mixture of soy sauce and black Chinese tea flavored with spices. Making a big batch at home to last the week is pretty easy and preparing them for the Lunar New Year is considered particularly lucky. You can snack on them warm or cold or use them to top congee, noodles, rice and other dishes. The eggs will have a green ring around the yolk, common to eggs boiled for an extended period; this is usual for the ones sold on the street and at markets, too.
- Level: Easy
- Total: 9 hr (includes cooling and overnight soaking)
- Active: 30 min
- Yield: 12 eggs
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 86
- Total Fat
- 5 g
- Saturated Fat
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 3 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 1 g
- Protein
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 186 mg
- Sodium
- 734 mg
Ingredients
Directions
- Add enough cold water (about 8 cups) to a large saucepan to submerge the eggs. Cover the pan and bring just the water to a boil over high heat. Add the cold eggs and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and boil for 8 minutes.
- Strain the hard-boiled eggs and place them in a large bowl of cold water or ice water to stop the cooking. Set aside until cold.
- Firmly crack the eggs with the back of the spoon or on the kitchen counter to make a crater or opening for the tea-soy sauce to seep in, but don’t crack so much that the shells loosen and come off.
- Meanwhile, in the same saucepan, combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, black tea, brown sugar, Shaoxing wine, bouillon powder, cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns if using, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Place the cracked eggs into the braising liquid and gently simmer, covered, for at least 1 hour. You can peel and eat the eggs now, or, for maximum flavor, turn off the heat and let the pot cool to room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator and let the eggs marinate 8 hours or overnight, making sure the liquid is covering the eggs. When ready to serve, gently warm up the eggs in the braising liquid over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Strain, reserving the braising liquid and eggs separately.
- When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel off the shell to reveal the eggs marbled or webbed with the soy mixture. Enjoy the eggs warm or room temperature. You can save the braising liquid for 2 weeks in the refrigerator of 3 months frozen to make another batch of eggs.
Cook’s Note
If you are using loose-leaf tea, we recommend that you tie it in a cheesecloth or place it in a disposable tea bag or in a metal tea ball.
Looking for Something Else?
Related Pages
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Eggs Recipe
- Ming's Sesame Tofu and Cucumber Salad with Soy...
- Halloween Deviled Eggs Recipe
- Soy Sauce Substitutes
- Chinese Steamed Eggs Recipe
- A Guide to the Different Types of Soy Sauce
- Hong Kong-Style Egg Sandwiches Recipe
- Kashmiri Kahwa Recipe
- Hagrid’s Dragon Eggs Recipe