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    Home » Recipes » Asian » Chinese Tea Eggs

    Chinese Tea Eggs

    Last Modified: March 15, 2021 - Published by: christieathome - Comments: 12 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Chinese Tea Eggs. Salty, savoury hard boiled eggs soaked in a soy and tea based liquid flavoured with Chinese Five Spice. A delicious side to any meal.

    My Chinese tea eggs with 5 spice is so easy to make! And the longer you soak it the more flavour but I share a recipe that is quicker than others where the soaking process is usually overnight.

    This Chinese tea eggs recipe only takes 1 hour to make and you still get those delicious salty savoury eggs.

    chinese tea eggs boiled

    This dish is a classic that originates from China. It's serves as a snack or side dish that you usually eat with some rice and veggies.

    Not only are Chinese Tea Eggs delicious but they are beautiful to look at with that cracked pattern!

    Also, my recipe for Chinese tea eggs only requires a small pot to make these! They're really simple.

    This recipe was also adapted from Strictly Dumpling's recipe. You guys should check out his recipe. His does take a bit longer and requires more ingredients and I decided to simplify it and add one more delicious ingredient (Chinese Five Spice)

    chinese tea eggs

    Other recipes you may like!

    CHINESE SOY SAUCE EGGS
    SESAME SOY SCALLION OMELETTE TOAST RECIPE
    HONG KONG STYLE EGG AVOCADO TOAST
    KOREAN OMELETTE SANDWICH

    Watch how I made it!

    For my Chinese Tea Eggs recipe:

    You will need the following ingredients for these Chinese tea boiled eggs:

    4 eggs
    2 cups water for boiling

    Marinade:
    2 black tea bags
    ¼ + ⅛ cup soy sauce
    2 cups water
    2 star anise
    1 cinnamon stick
    ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice
    ½ tsp salt
    1 tsp sugar

    How to Cook Chinese Tea Eggs?

    First you want to soak your eggs in a small pot of room temperature water for 5 minutes. This prevents the egg shells from cracking when you boil them.

    hard boiled eggs

    Then bring the pot to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Rinse and cool your eggs under cold water so they're cool to touch.

    boiling eggs

    Using the back of a spoon, lightly (and I mean lightly) crack the shells so they create a "web" pattern. If you crack it too hard the shell will break loose and all your soy sauce will seep inside. You will get that beautiful cracked pattern on your eggs.

    Once you've cracked them, place them back into the pot.

    To the pot, add all your marinade ingredients and lightly stir.

    chinese tea eggs boiled

    Bring this pot to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes covered.

    Boiling chinese tea eggs

    Allow your eggs to cool. If you're in a hurry or you're impatient like me, spoon your eggs from the broth and rinse it under cold water to peel.

    Peel carefully and enjoy!

    inside of chinese tea eggs

    Give it a try!

    Well I hope you give my Chinese Tea Eggs recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.

    Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed these easy Chinese tea eggs, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @christieathome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!

    Made this recipe and loved it?

    If you could leave a star rating, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!

    Take care,
    Christie

    *This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn from qualifying purchases through additional affiliate programs

    chinese tea eggs

    Chinese Tea Eggs

    christieathome
    Chinese Tea Eggs. Salty, savoury hard boiled eggs soaked in a soy and tea based liquid flavoured with Chinese Five Spice. A delicious side to any meal.
    4.75 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 55 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course dinner, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 4 eggs
    Calories per serving 85 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 eggs
    • 2 cups water for boiling

    Marinade:

    • 2 black tea bags
    • ¼+ ⅛ cup regular soy sauce
    • 2 cups water
    • 2 star anise
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 tsp white granulated sugar

    Instructions
     

    • First you want to soak your eggs in a small pot of room temperature water for 5 minutes. This prevents the egg shells from cracking when you boil them.
    • Then bring the pot to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Rinse and cool your eggs under cold water so they're cool to touch.
    • Using the back of a spoon, lightly (and I mean lightly) crack the shells so they create a "web" pattern. If you crack it too hard the shell will break loose and all your soy sauce will seep inside. You will get that beautiful cracked pattern on your eggs.
    • Once you've cracked them, place them back into the pot.
    • To the pot, add all your marinade ingredients and lightly stir.
    • Bring this pot to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes covered.
    • Allow your eggs to cool. If you're in a hurry or you're impatient like me, spoon your eggs from the broth and rinse it under cold water to peel.
    • Peel carefully and enjoy!
    Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
    Copyright PolicyPlease do not copy and paste my recipes or use my photos in your own site/blog or social media. If you use my recipe for adaptation, please provide a link back to my recipe and re-write in your own words. Thank you.

    Suggested Equipment & Products

    Measuring Set
    Small pot
    Nutrition
    Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 1580mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 243IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
    Course dinner, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine Chinese
    Keyword authentic chinese tea eggs, chinese and tea eggs, chinese tea eggs recipe, chinese tea eggs with 5 spice, recipe with tea eggs, the chinese tea eggs

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle | Sift & Simmer

      July 27, 2020 at 8:32 pm

      5 stars
      Oooh these tea eggs are so beautiful with the webbing! Love how the tea flavour gets infused into the eggs. I'll have to try these soon. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    2. Katherine | Love In My Oven

      July 27, 2020 at 11:21 pm

      5 stars
      These are soo beautiful, Christie. Your recipes always amaze me!

      Reply
    3. Alex

      July 29, 2020 at 1:44 am

      5 stars
      These look absolutely beautiful, Christie! I love them! I can't wait to try 🙂

      Reply
    4. Maribelle

      July 30, 2020 at 8:25 pm

      5 stars
      I didn’t know about the chinese tea eggs before, until I saw this recipe. It looked so delicious so I had to try it. Thank u Christie ! It was amazing❤️

      Reply
      • christieathome

        July 30, 2020 at 8:58 pm

        Thank you so much for making my recipe Maribelle! I'm so glad you enjoyed them and happy I could share this recipe with you!

        Reply
    5. Heidi | The Frugal Girls

      August 02, 2020 at 4:31 pm

      5 stars
      Your tip for creating the cool spider web design is genius... and I would have never imagined a boiled egg with so much fun flavor. Perfect!!

      Reply
    6. Michael

      August 21, 2022 at 9:46 pm

      4 stars
      These turned out really good! Out of curiosity, how long can you store the tea eggs in the marinating liquid in a fridge?

      Reply
      • christieathome

        August 29, 2022 at 2:50 pm

        Thank you so much for these kind words and for making my recipe! I'm so glad you enjoyed the eggs! They can last for 4 days in the fridge.

        Reply
    7. Michael

      August 25, 2022 at 10:54 pm

      4 stars
      These turned out pretty darn good! One question, though. How long can you store them in a jar with the marinade in the fridge?

      Reply
      • christieathome

        August 29, 2022 at 2:46 pm

        Thank you so much for making my recipe! I'm so glad you enjoyed the dish! They can be stored in the marinade for 4 days.

        Reply
    8. Allison

      January 21, 2023 at 2:12 pm

      5 stars
      Loved them! Can you reuse the marinade for another batch of eggs?

      Reply
      • christieathome

        January 23, 2023 at 2:20 pm

        Thank you so much for making them Allison! Yes, you can definitely do that. I would recommend reboiling the marinade so the heat helps it absorb into the eggs better than if it were cold.

        Reply

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    Christie

    Christie is an Asian Recipe Blogger sharing delicious recipes that you can make at home! Her goal is to make Asian cooking approachable and less intimidating. With a social media following of over 500k, she has been featured on Buzz Feed Tasty, Food52, The Kitchn and more! Christie's recipes have been made over and over again by her loyal readers.

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