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My Most Popular Chinese Recipes ❤️
Tips, tricks, and recipes for perfect Chinese dishes
FREE EMAIL BONUS:
My Most Popular Chinese Recipes ❤️
Tips, tricks, and recipes for Chinese dishes
This past weekend, my neighborhood Albertson was having an egg sale for only 99 cents a carton. When I saw the ad, I immediately thought of Chinese tea eggs.
My uncle recently gave me a block of aged Chinese pu-erh tea (普洱茶) and it’s perfect for tea leaf eggs (茶叶蛋).
I am a huge fan of eggs, especially hard-boiled eggs in curry, soy sauce, or in this case, Chinese tea. What’s not to love about eggs that are steeped for hours in Chinese tea, with marbled pattern on the egg white, plus to-die-for aroma from the tea? I simply love Chinese tea leaf eggs.
If appearance is not important to you, you can prepare these tea eggs in a jiffy without boiling the eggs twice. Some people simply leave the eggs (with the shell on) in the Chinese tea mixture and skip the process of cracking the egg shells.
So, it’s totally up to you. For me, I love pretty looking tea leaf eggs and don’t mind spending longer time in the kitchen preparing them.
This is an easy Chinese tea eggs or tea leaf eggs recipe. Try them and make a big batch for your family and I am sure they will enjoy them very much!
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 70 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
Tea Leaf Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- 4 cups water
- 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Chinese pu-erh tea leaf
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 star anise
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Add 4 cups of water to a medium pot and gently drop in the eggs. Make sure the water covers the eggs. Bring the water to boil on high heat. Boil for about 10 minutes or so to make sure the eggs are cooked.
- Transfer the hard-boiled eggs out of the hot boiling water and rinse them with cold water. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell. Return the eggs to the water and add in the remaining ingredients.
- Bring the tea mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour (the longer the simmering, the better the taste). Add more water if needed. Serve immediately, or leave the tea eggs in the mixture overnight to further develop the color and flavor.
Notes
Nutrition
This is my go-to tea leaf egg recipe. I’ve used it a dozen + times and made it for my parents, friends, neighbors. All love! I havent strayed much from the recipe except to put in a a couple more star anise or a couple more cloves. I use pu-erh tea every time. Delicious, easy, yum!