Tea Eggs

Tea Eggs

Noel Laflin

4-14-22

David makes these on occasion - a dozen or two at a time - and when he does, they disappear quickly. Being Easter, it seems like a good time to show one off after the shell is peeled away.

It's a hard boiled egg prepared in dark tea, instead of water. David reminds me here to let you all know that green tea will not produce the same flavor; oolong or Lipton regular tea works best. He uses both. There are several other ingredients also added to the boiling mixture including brown sugar, cinnamon, soy sauce, licorice root, anise seed, and a little dry chili.

There's a shell tapping technique applied as well, which allows the dark tea mixture to seep into each egg, giving them the cool dark designs.

Once the eggs are boiled, the whole batch of both eggs and liquid are allowed to cool and put into the refrigerator (cooking pot and all). The next day it's put back on the burner and slowly put to a boil again.

Then, Voilà!

And they are tastiest when eaten warm. With soy in the mixture, there is no need to add salt.

You can purchase warm tea eggs in every 7-11 store in Taiwan, as they are a national snack there. But I've got to tell y'al, David's are better!

They are simply yummy!

Happy Easter, Taiwanese Tea Egg Style!