A tea egg is a Chinese snack popularly enjoyed by many people in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It is a favorite among Chinese communities, and it is increasing in popularity throughout the world. Although there are various recipes for making tea eggs, they are generally made by boiling eggs, gently cracking the shells, and then simmering them further in a blend of black tea leaves, soy sauce, and spices. The flavor from the spiced mixture seeps into the egg through the cracks in the shell, resulting in a flavorful marinated egg. In addition to the flavor added to the egg by this process, simmering the egg in the spice blend imparts a marbling effect to the cooked egg white.
To impart maximum flavor and color to the tea egg, the simmering process can continue for several hours. Alternatively, the egg can be simmered for 20 minutes, left in the liquid mixture, and placed in the refrigerator for a few days to marinate. The longer the tea egg remains in the mixture, the more flavorful and colored it will be.
Common variations on the traditional tea egg recipe include preparing them without the use of tea leaves, or removing the shells prior to soaking them in the spiced mixture. Chinese five-spice powder is often used as an ingredient in this Chinese snack. The five spices contained in this seasoning are Szechuan peppercorns, ground cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, and cloves.
Other Chinese egg dishes include the century egg, soy egg, salted duck eggs, and balut. Traditionally, century eggs are prepared by coating eggs in clay, ash, rice hulls, lime, and salt for an extended period of time. This process causes an increase in the eggs' pH levels, thereby resulting in a flavorful snack with a pungent ammonia or sulfur odor. Soy eggs are cooked in water, soy sauce, spices, and sugar to produce a food that is commonly eaten alone as a snack or combined with other foods as a meal.
In spite of their name, salted duck eggs are sometimes made with chicken eggs. They are eggs that have been preserved in brine or a charcoal paste. Unlike tea eggs, soy eggs, and salted duck eggs, balut is an egg that has actually been fertilized. A balut has a partially or fully formed chick or duckling inside. The egg is prepared in the same way as traditional hard boiled eggs and eaten while still warm.
