Tea egg

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This article is about the Chinese egg-based snack. Tea egg is sometimes also used to refer to a Tea infuser.

Tea egg
A peeled tea egg shown with shell
Traditional Chinese	茶葉蛋
Simplified Chinese	茶叶蛋
Literal meaning	tea leaf egg
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin chá yè dàn Cantonese - Jyutping caa4 jip6 daan2

Tea egg is a typical Chinese savory snack commonly sold by street vendors or in night markets in most Chinese communities throughout the world.

Preparation

"Regular preparation"

Tea eggs are simply hard-boiled eggs that have been further stewed in a salted tea liquid. Other flavourings such as soy sauce and Chinese five-spice powder are often added as well. The eggs are actually boiled twice. After the first boiling, when the insides are hardened, the shell of each egg is lightly cracked. The eggs are then boiled for much longer duration in the black tea mixture for a second time, which allows the flavour of the tea to penetrate deep into the egg. The dark colour of the tea also stains through the cracks of the eggs creating a pattern on the peeled eggs that resembles the crazing of some ceramic glaze surfaces.

Quick method

Another method used to make tea eggs is to remove the shells completely before boiling in the tea mixture. The result is not as attractive but it is quicker. Most people would only use this method in an informal setting, when they don't have much time. Some people simply leave the egg (with its shell on) floating in the tea mixture for several hours, and boil it on high heat before serving.

Appearance and flavor

A batch of homemade tea eggs.

In the end, when the peel comes off, the egg should have regions of light and dark brown, with mid-brownish tone along the cracks of the shell. The yolk should have a thin greyish layer with the core being the usual yellow. As for flavor, it depends on which tea (the type and strength) and the variety of spices that are used. Five-spice powder adds a savory, slightly salty tone to the white, and the tea should bring out the yolk's flavor.

Regional

Hong Kong

The tea used in making tea eggs is usually low in quality but high in dark-brown tannins. Green tea is considered too bitter for the use of making tea eggs. In Hong Kong Pu-erh tea is most commonly used, but it can be substituted with black tea.

China

Tea eggs in a metal bowl over heat source. A common sight throughout China

In Northeast China tea eggs are often privately made and sold. One might also see street vendors cooking and selling steaming-hot tea eggs. In Shanghai, tea eggs are sold by both convenience stores and private street vendors, where the tea eggs are often cooked together with dried tofu.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, tea eggs are a fixture of convenience stores. Through 7-Eleven chains alone, an average of 40 million tea eggs are sold per year.

References

• 陳富春. (2004). “小楊桃系列-003. 茶葉蛋”. 楊桃文化. ISBN 978-986-7853-58-5

See also

• Century egg
• Soy egg
• Balut
• Salted duck egg