Beautiful Chinese Tea Eggs

Found this recipe at http://asiansupper.com/

If you've never had this classic Chinese street snack, you're missing out on an incredibly flavorful way to eat hard boiled eggs. They're perfect for a picnic or a hike, and while a humble boiled egg, the intricate marbled design gives them a certain "wow" factor, good if you want to mix it up with a different hors d'oeuvres for a party.

While it doesn't take too much work to make tea eggs, it does take time, so you might as well make a batch of them instead of just a few. I typically make 6-8 eggs with the recipe below. If you'd like to make a lot more, you should adjust the spices & water up.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

• 6-8 eggs (you can make more or less, it's up to you)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp chinese five-spice (if you don't have this, you can substitute 2 star anise & 1 cinnamon stick)
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 black teabags or 3-4 tsp black tea

RECIPE STEPS:

• Bring eggs to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Cool the eggs by rinsing in cold water. Let them rest in cool water for a minute or two.
• Using the back of a spoon, lightly tap the egg shells all over to create a pattern of fine spider-like cracks. Set them back into your pot and cover them again with cool water.
• Add the soy sauce, five-spice, salt and black tea to your pot. Simmer, covered, for at least an hour, better yet two hours.
• You can eat the eggs immediately, or you can let them steep longer in the refrigerator. To steep them in the refrigerator, transfer the eggs into a container with enough liquid to cover them.

Serving Size: 3-5
Preparation Time: 20 minutes