Tea Eggs

Name: Tea Eggs
Yield: makes 12 eggs
Ingredients: 12 eggs; 1/2 cup loose black tea leaves, preferably keemun or lapsang souchong; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; Four 1/2-inch-thick slices fresh ginger; 2 star anise; 1 cinnamon stick

December 14, 2011

This is special-occasion food for many Chinese, served as part of large meals. The eggs simmer in their special dark liquid, and eager hands reach in to retrieve an egg, peel it, and devour it. The smoky flavor and pretty patterns on the eggs are mysterious looking but easy to create. By all means, make these ahead of time, as you would any hard-cooked eggs.

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