Chinese - Tea Eggs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  On our first day in Shanghai I went to buy some essentials in a store called Family Mart, these eggs caught my attention. I had never seen something like this before. The eggs was getting cooked in a very dark colored solution and most of the eggs were partially cracked. The look in itself was not appetizing. It was only when I started with my internship, our colleagues used to order local food and I got to taste the eggs for the first time. The Tea eggs are a common snack and many times added with combo meals as well. We are normally aware of only plain water boiled hard eggs but this technique can be used to beautifully infuse different types aroma and taste in eggs- a delightful variation of this simple everyday dish.
Chinese Tea eggs definitely bring back the memory of my stay in China. Those 24*7 shops like Lawson , Family Mart and few others were almost in every corner in every city and here you can always find these tea eggs. I derived the recipe from the blog Chinasichuan food, but I have changed the cooking time as the longer cooking time gave me better result.
Most of the ingredients needed to prepare Chinese Tea eggs are easily available in India.

Prep Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time: 2-3 hrs
Resting Time : overnight preferably

Ingredients :

1. Eight eggs
2. 1 tsp of Black tea
3. 1 tsp of Oolong tea
4. 3 Star anise
5. 3 Bay Leaves
6. 1 Cinnamon sticks
7. 1 tsp Fennel seeds
8. 1 tsp pods of Sichuan pepper/ black pepper
9. 2 table spoon of light soy sauce and 2 table spoon of dark soy sauce
10. Bit of rock sugar
11. 1 tsp of salt
12. Water only

Instruction :

1. Wash and clean the eggs
2. Boil the eggs for about 6 - 7 minutes
3. Transfer the eggs in cold water
4. Take a spoon and lightly crack the egg shell
5. In a pan add water, all the spices. Let it boil 
6. Add the eggs,add the soy sauces , rock sugar and salt
7. Reduce the flame and let it simmer for 2 - 3 hours
8. Switch off the heat and let the eggs rest in the solution 
9. Bring the solution to boil once before serving
10. Remove the shell and enjoy the eggs