Tea Leaf Eggs 简易茶叶蛋

I made these tea leaf eggs because I needed it for my egg-cellent idea as seen here above LoL.

Some people use a variety of spices like cinnamon stick, fennel, orange peel, clove, star aniseed etc and perhaps Chinese herbs like Angelica Sinensis as well for making these tea-infused eggs. However, these spices may not be commonly use in our daily cooking. I bought a pack of cloves and star aniseeds some times back and they are still sitting in my pantry. So I don't quite like the idea of purchasing more spices just for this recipe which I may not use very soon again.

Hence I made up my mind to use the Chinese 5-spice powder instead. If you wondered what made up the 5 spices in this powder, they are Cinnamon, Star Aniseed, Clove, Fennel & Pepper! Perfect for making my tea leaf eggs! And I already had another recipe in mind which requires the use of the 5-spice powder. Great! So here goes :)

Ingredients A:

- 6 eggs

Ingredients B:

- 4 cups of water

- 4 tbs light soy sauce

- 1 tbs dark soy sauce

- 3 Chinese tea bags with strings & tags removed (I used Iron Buddha Tea, Oolong or Pu-er is gd too)

- 2 tsp sugar

- 1 tbs 5-spice powder

- 2 slices of ginger

1) Place the eggs in a small pot and fill the pot with tap water that is enough to submerge all the eggs. Add a pinch of salt to prevent cracking during the boiling process. Cover the pot and over low heat, bring the water to boil. Let the water continue to boil for another minute or two and off the heat. Leave the eggs in the hot water for another 10 minutes before transferring them into a bowl of cool tap water.

2) Once the eggs are cooled enough to handle, make cracks on the shell by tapping it with the back of a teaspoon. The shell must be keep intact and not be removed. Set aside.

3) In a pot, combine the ingredients B and bring them to a boil over high heat. Once boiled, turn to low heat and lower the eggs (with cracks) into the mixture. Simmer with the lid half covered for at least 2 hours. *Important Note: In this 2 hours, top up with hot/warm water should the mixture runs dry. Make sure the eggs are always fully submerge in the mixture.

4) When done, the eggs can be served straight. But it will be best if the eggs can be marinate in the mixture for at least another few hours and ideal if being left overnight so that the eggs will be  further infused by the aroma and flavour from the mixture.

Enjoy!