Eating tea eggs has always been a fundamentally nostalgic activity for me, so I thought I would try something new here. I took it upon myself to survey a hand-curated list of cultural insiders (i.e. my fellow Chinese American friends), asking each of them what memories were evoked by cha ye dan (tea eggs). Their unedited responses were as follows:

 “It reminds me of big Asian parties because that’s the only place where I would eat them…especially mainland Chinese parties.” – John K.  

“I remember my mom teaching me how to make them so that I wouldn’t starve in college.” – Renee C. 

“They are always at festivals and stuff.” – Jessie W.

“I am sorry to say that it was merely something that surprised me in a bowl of noodles.” – Helen C.

 
Not quite...

This exercise provided much less interesting responses than I had anticipated; not that my friends are fundamentally uninteresting but perhaps because I need to improve as a question asker. In any case, the point I’m trying to get across is that tea eggs are a deeply embedded part of any Chinese child’s growing up.  

For me, tea eggs immediately transported me to a time when I stood only waist high and seemed perpetually lost in a sea of aunties with their stockings and sensible shoes and perms. Inhaling the smells of the eggs cooking flung open the floodgates of memory as image upon image of potlucks and church lunches washed over me. I could hardly contain myself as I greedily peeled away the cracked eggshell to unveil the stained flesh of the egg; sinking my teeth in to take the first bite was like an inevitable homecoming.

+++

Even without the memories linked to the taste of tea eggs, anyone will enjoy the taste of these flavorful sacs of wonder. It requires surprisingly little effort and just a few supplies which can be picked up at your local Asian grocery store.

In their final form

Fast and Easy Tea Eggs / 茶叶蛋

Recipe adapted from The Food of China

10 eggs

3 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tbsp rice wine

1 large star anise (I used two small ones)

1 tbsp sugar

1 cinnamon stick

3 slices ginger, smashed or scored

3 tbsp black tea leaves

Hard boil the eggs, in your preferred fashion. My method: place eggs in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and brought it to a boil. Then reduce to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Once cooked, shock them in cold water. Drain the eggs and lightly tap and roll the shells on your counter to crack them. Do NOT remove shells.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan with 4 cups water and boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked eggs and simmer for additional 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the tea mixture (the book says to do so until cool, but I opted to let it sit overnight, for more flavor). Remove shells and serve eggs warm or cold.

 Gifs are kinda like magic