Taiwanese Tea Egg (茶葉蛋)

I remember snacking on these delicious Taiwanese tea eggs when growing up. I used to be so excited when cracking the shells, as each egg has a different design. Today, my boys love to eat them and they call it their "Spider Egg", I guess it reminds them of spider webs. So typical boys, don't you think ? Spider Man is such hero to them, they think Spider Man snacks on those tea eggs all the time. Funny !!!!

Taiwanese Tea Egg (茶葉蛋)

6 eggs
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 - 3 star anise
2 tablespoons Taiwanese black tea or Pu-erh-tea (普洱茶)
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sichuan peppercorn
2 strips dried tangerine peel
1 - 2 dashes 5 spice powder

Step 1:
Gently place the eggs in a medium pot and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1-inch. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs (leaving the water in the pot) and let cool under running cool water.

Step 2:
Using the back of the teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell all over. The more you tap, the more intricate the design. Do this with a delicate hand to keep the shell intact.

Step 3:
To the same pot with the boiling water, return the eggs and add in the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, cover with lid and let eggs steep for a few hours to overnight.

The longer you steep, the more flavorful and deeply marbled the tea eggs will be.

Step 4:
Remove egg shell and enjoy !!!!