Egg Salad
Lidey Heuck
837 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
837
20 minutes
Tea Eggs
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 1 day’s soaking
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:12 eggs
- 12large eggs
- ½cup soy sauce
- 2tablespoons shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2teaspoons granulated sugar
- 4slices peeled fresh ginger
- 1whole star anise
- 1teaspoon whole Sichuan or black peppercorns
- 1teaspoon coarse salt
- 3Chinese tea bags or ⅓ cup loose tea, such as oolong or jasmine
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
84 calories; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 7 grams protein; 655 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Take the eggs out of the refrigerator to let them warm up a bit. (Very cold eggs can crack when they hit boiling water.)
- Step 2
Combine the soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sugar, ginger, star anise, peppercorns and salt in a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups water and the tea bags, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer while the eggs cook and cool.
- Step 3
Bring a few inches of water in a large saucepan to a boil over high heat. Using a spoon, carefully and quickly add the eggs one at a time. Cook for 6 minutes for jammy yolks, 7 minutes for just-set yolks and 8 to 10 minutes for hard-boiled yolks. Pour the boiling water out of the saucepan, keeping the eggs back with a lid or spatula, then fill the saucepan with cold water from the tap. Let stand until the eggs are cool enough to handle, then drain.
- Step 4
To create a marbled look, tap the eggs with the back of a spoon to create hairline fractures all over with some bigger cracks but without breaking off the shells. For solid-colored eggs, peel the eggs completely. Transfer the eggs to the soy sauce mixture. Remove from the heat. Cover the saucepan or transfer everything to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 7 days before peeling the eggs and eating. For the clearest design, be sure to peel the eggs without removing the fine membrane between the shells and eggs.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Mary from Terry, MS
I'll try this technique with hibiscus tea to see if the crackled pattern is a nice shade of pink.
John C
I've made these for a while using the recipe in the Time Life Foods of the World, Chinese Cooking. The recipe is different in a few ways. There's a longer simmer, which of course means you don't have a loose yolk. I've found that these eggs, as long as you focus on savory flavors, can withstand lots of improvisation with spices. Cinnamon sticks, red pepper flakes, pepper corns, fennel and cumin seeds all work great. I don't add sugar. This is a great one to try and get comfortable with!
Sonder
No answer? How the HECK do you peel an egg "without removing the fine membrane"? I only ever see a tiny bit of it at the edges of the cracked bits of shell. Even google was no help.
Amy
Both soy sauce and the Shaoxing wine are brown so you may end up with more of a purple shade fyi.
Joy
Hibiscus tea has a tartness which will transfer to the eggs along with the beautiful color. My sense is that the flavor will be very different to what’s intended.
Dani
What is meant at the end: “For the clearest design, be sure to peel the eggs without removing the fine membrane between the shells and eggs.”? Should the membranes remain on the eggs or stay attached to the shells?
Carol
There are recipes for using beets if you want magenta. Mother-in-law did them.
Jupiter
Suggest you remove the shells before soaking. After 24 hours mine had excellent flavor.
Jupiter
I made these using what I have in the kitchen. So: loose green tea, a brand I picked up at Katagiri. (I don't have black or oolong.) Also: no star anise within reach so I used coriander seeds. I had black pepper corns, check. I never run out of soy sauce. But I didn't have the wine or sherry so I used a good white wine vinegar from Agata Valentina. Oh and did I mention eggs? It's a wonderful recipe to experiment with! I peeled my eggs entirely. Served 24 hours later. Yum!
Jennie
I thought these were lovely, and became ever lovelier the longer they stayed in the fridge. And if one follows Weight Watchers, they have 0 points! I think everyone should have a tub of marinating tea eggs in their refrigerator at all times! I'm off to make another dozen right now!
Tina
Ingredients: Lapsang Souchong tea leaves (this tea gives you a smoky taste.) Soy sauce A few Star anise A small Cinnamon stick A few bay leaves Water 6-8 Boiled eggs Steps: 1) Crack the eggs but not peel them to get the perfect marble effect 2) Put all the ingredients in a clay pot (clay pot is the best for tea eggs), bring them to a boiling point, then simmer for 30-40 min 3) Let the eggs cool and soak in the pot overnight Enjoy!
Mercedes S
No sugar for my eggs
Kat Hughes
Not a success for me. Will not make this again
Carmen
Five days, they are mild but tasty. The patterning didn’t come out too well.
Dani
What is meant at the end: “For the clearest design, be sure to peel the eggs without removing the fine membrane between the shells and eggs.”? Should the membranes remain on the eggs or stay attached to the shells?
Sonder
No answer? How the HECK do you peel an egg "without removing the fine membrane"? I only ever see a tiny bit of it at the edges of the cracked bits of shell. Even google was no help.
Jeanne
I found these eggs "meh", not worth the time and refrigerator space needed. I left them in the cracked shells in the solution for 4 days and the taste was not that different from a regular hard boiled egg. Maybe if they soaked without the shells if would have a more pronounced flavor.
Jupiter
Suggest you remove the shells before soaking. After 24 hours mine had excellent flavor.
Jupiter
I made these using what I have in the kitchen. So: loose green tea, a brand I picked up at Katagiri. (I don't have black or oolong.) Also: no star anise within reach so I used coriander seeds. I had black pepper corns, check. I never run out of soy sauce. But I didn't have the wine or sherry so I used a good white wine vinegar from Agata Valentina. Oh and did I mention eggs? It's a wonderful recipe to experiment with! I peeled my eggs entirely. Served 24 hours later. Yum!
Meg
Tried this with coffee. Did not work.
Truffles
I love tea eggs but the picture of barely cooked yolks is repulsive.
John C
I've made these for a while using the recipe in the Time Life Foods of the World, Chinese Cooking. The recipe is different in a few ways. There's a longer simmer, which of course means you don't have a loose yolk. I've found that these eggs, as long as you focus on savory flavors, can withstand lots of improvisation with spices. Cinnamon sticks, red pepper flakes, pepper corns, fennel and cumin seeds all work great. I don't add sugar. This is a great one to try and get comfortable with!
Joy
Hibiscus tea has a tartness which will transfer to the eggs along with the beautiful color. My sense is that the flavor will be very different to what’s intended.
Carol
There are recipes for using beets if you want magenta. Mother-in-law did them.
M. Lukens
@MaryfromTerryMS Of course, hibiscus infusion has a very different flavor from Chinese black tea or oolong, so hibiscus will change not only the color but the taste. Please report back on the result! I'm having a hard time imagining hibiscus tea with soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, but maybe?
Jed
I prefer chaminados (Sephardic eggs), but these are certainly a lot easier. And you don't have to collect onion skins, either.
Jupiter
Tell us about chaminados, please!
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