Hello hi everyone! Wesley here. This is a recipe for a Chinese Marbled Tea Egg, adding to our series on Bay Area restaurant hacks. This particular version is inspired by the tea eggs found at the local late night cafe here in Oakland called Shooting Star. I've been eating these eggs since I was a little kid, and they bring me right back to being 10 years old, eating three of these in a hurry while in a rush to get to school on time. Hope you try it!
Yields 12 eggs
INGREDIENTS
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
4 cloves garlic
12 eggs
4 tbsp black tea leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise pod
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp sichuan peppercorn
4-6 dried tianjin peppers
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp black vinegar
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
6 cups water
1 cup stock
PREP
CRUSH AND MINCE garlic, set aside
MINCE ginger, set aside
ADD eggs to cold water and bring to a medium boil
BOIL eggs for 6 minutes once the water starts boiling, then immediately remove and blanch in ice water
CRACK eggs with the back of a spoon
ON THE STOVE
ADD everything but the eggs to a pot and bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20 minutes
POUR sauce seasoning into a heatproof bowl and let cool for 20 minutes
ADD cracked eggs to the bowl, ensuring that the eggs are all fully submerged
SOAK eggs for 24 hours, or up to three days before eating