Tea egg

Method

1. 1 Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then use a spoon to gently tap the shells to create a network of cracks without peeling them.
2. 2 These cracks create the marble-like brown pattern on the white surface; peeling the skin removes the pattern.
3. 3 Boil water with black tea, soy sauce, five-spice powder, cinnamon, star anise, orange peel, and brown sugar for 10 minutes.
4. 4 Add the eggs and simmer for 50 minutes at 85 degrees, avoiding a rolling boil.
5. 5 Turn off the heat, let it cool, then refrigerate for 8 hours before eating.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 40 min

  Replace step 4: Cook the cracked eggs in a pressure cooker for 8 minutes at high pressure, then release the pressure naturally. The tea flavor will penetrate deeper, but the egg whites will be slightly firmer, so reduce the cooking time in step 1 to 6 minutes.