Tuesday 13 August 2013

Chinese Tea Eggs (茶叶蛋)

My kids are all egg lovers and they eat hard boiled eggs on a regular basis though it can rather plain and boring! I decided to do something a little different by making these Chinese Tea Eggs. 


The combination of tea leaves and dried spices (cinnamon, star anise and cloves) and five spice powder filled the kitchen was a wonderful aroma even as the eggs gently simmered on the stove for that two hours. 


My kids enjoyed the Chinese Tea Eggs very much as they it has a distinctive and special flavour. It can be enjoyed dipped in soya sauce but I think its sufficiently flavourful on its own. You can leave it overnight so that the eggs develop a deeper flavour. It's an easy dish to make - what you'll need is patience to watch the fire while its cooking. 


Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs Recipe from Rasa Malaysia
Ingredients:
  • 6-12 eggs (I used 6 eggs)
  • 4 cups water
  • 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (I used 5 tbsp)
  • 3 tablespoons pu-erh tea (I used tie guan yin tea leaves)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
Method:
  • 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 2 hours (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.

I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out

29 comments:

  1. Hi Mich, that look delicious. My favorite tea eggs, I don't mind to eat 3 at one go. LOL
    I usually let it simmer in slow cooker for 4 hours, after that let it soak for few hours. Then keep the balance sauce in the freezer for next round, more flavorful.

    Have a nice day.

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  2. Hi Mich, I prepared the herbal eggs last weekend. Yet to post it. My family finished them within the day. There are many versions but I like this with 5 spice powder.

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  3. I love this herbal eggs too. Yours make me feel like making my own :) thanks for sharing!

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  4. This is my favourite but I always cook this with the pre-packed herbal tea eggs mixed.

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  5. These are my children's favourite, my daughter can eat 5 at once!

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  6. This is my family favourite. So nice ~ Thanks for sharing.

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  7. ivy sew http://simplybeautifulhealthyliving.blogspot.com13 August 2013 at 16:46

    Hi Mich, my family loves herbal tea eggs too. We can just eat this as a meal!

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  8. Mich, I love the smell of the tea eggs! I haven't tried making on my own but when I pass by the Chinese herbals shops, I always take a deep breath of the yummy aroma :)

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  9. Mich, these look delicious! One of my childhood friends always ate a tea egg at lunch, and she was obsessed with them. I've never had one, but I'm inspired to try making them after seeing your post. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Hello Mich! I came to your blog last night coz I haven't seen your update for a while, I thought I might be over-looked your new posting, haha. By the way, will you consider of using the slow cooker to cook the eggs? My friends bought me a few packets of the herbs before in making this dish & I just put hard-boiled eggs & the herbs in the slow cooker for a few hours.

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  11. Hi Mich, Lovely tea eggs. One of my favourites too. I love the aroma of tea eggs

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  12. Mich, I love tea eggs with 5 five spice powder. Have made some last week too.

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  13. Hi Mich,
    We love tea eggs, so fragrant and delicious! I can almost smell the lovely fragrance from here! Yum!

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  14. This is totally new to me!
    I definitely love what I see, and can almost smell the aroma :)
    I love to try new things and I'm hoping to try this recipe very soon

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  15. Hi Mich,

    We like eating eggs but not as a form of plain boiled eggs... My husband and boy are extremely fussy :(

    Got to try serving tea eggs to them and hope that they might change their opinions about boiled eggs.

    Zoe

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  16. I always wondered how these were made. Now I know! They look delicious Mich. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  17. I have never eaten chinese tea eggs before, but they sound so much better than a plain hard boiled egg. The look beautiful.

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  18. They must be very delicious, Mich.

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  19. How interesting, I've never seen eggs cooked like this before.

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  20. Mich, my family like茶叶蛋too, especially my son Gabriel, he can eat this non-stop!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

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  21. I tried making this before but can't get the beautiful marbling...my neighbour did it and hers was much better....so kind of her to give me some to enjoy:D

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  22. I love this eggs, but never made it myself...always get them from my mom.
    Your look great and the pictures are very tempting.
    Thanks for the recipe Mich and hope you are having a wonderful week :D

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  23. I like to eat this but never come across my mind to cook it myself, looks good!

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  24. Hi Mich, thanks for linking this to LTU! This Chinese tea eggs seem to be one of the most popular egg recipes this month. I shd try it too!

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  25. Ahh, very fragrant and delicious eggs...my neighbour gave me some last weekend how kind of her:D I should make some and return to her lol!

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  26. Pu-erh tea is one of my favorite Chinese tea and it's interesting how it's made (this is my first time to learn the recipe). I love boiled eggs and I need to try this one day!

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  27. The first time I've tasted tea eggs aeons ago , I told myself that someday , I'll make some homemade ones but until now , nada lol Your tea eggs for sure look delish !

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  28. hi mich, i nvr tasted these kind of eggs before, the ones that i tasted is also called tea eggs from ipoh but it is a tong sui ( drink in syrup ) . Was planning to make this for MFF..will see..

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