Tamari Tea Eggs

It's Chinese New Year in one week and that means you need to get ready to start making and eating lucky foods beginning on Chinese New Year's Eve, February 7th. So, I am giving you a recipe to make that is really easy and very lucky! Eggs are considered a symbol of fertility and creativity and the favorite way to make them for Chinese New Year or anytime is to basically dye them with Tamari and Black Tea. They are seasoned with Star Anise and Cinnamon. They are beautiful to look at and they taste great too. The only trick is to use eggs that are not too fresh or the shell will stick to the whites. And peel them very carefully - the membrane usually is what gets dyed the darkest so if you pull that off, it will be much paler in color, but it will still taste good! So, buy your eggs about a week in advance or use the oldest ones in your fridge. I make them pretty regularly as they are much more interesting and delicious than plain hardboiled eggs. They make an lovely, tasty and exotic Egg Salad too if you have any leftover eggs - just chop up the eggs and add a little Tamari to the Mayonnaise and a tiny bit of grated Ginger too and garnish with Green Onions. If you want to make Tamari Eggs without the bother, you can cook the eggs just a bit longer (7 minutes) then peel and place in the sauce, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and let stay in sauce for at least 15 minutes or refrigerate in the sauce. Either way, these eggs are delicious!

Tamari Tea Eggs

4 Large Eggs

1/4 cup Tamari

1/4 cup Boiling Water

1 Teabag - English or Irish Breakfast

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 Star Anise

1/2 Cinnamon Stick
1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper

In a small saucepan, cover the Eggs with Water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove eggs to cool slightly and reserve. Meanwhile, steep teabag in Boiling Water. Drain water from the pan and add in the Tea, Tamari, Sugar, Pepper, Star Anise and Cinnamon. Bring to a boil.

Crack the Eggs all over very carefully on the Kitchen Counter. When the Tamari/Tea mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and add in the Eggs.  Shake the pan and roll the eggs around for 5 minutes.  Then take off heat and let steep in the sauce, turning every 5 minutes for about a total of 15 minutes.

Then, remove eggs and carefully peel off the shell (and preserving the membrane if possible) and serve whole.

Five Element Analysis

Eggs belong to the Water Element and the Tamari adds even more. The Tea and Black Pepper add the Fire Element and the Star Anise and Cinnamon contribute the Metal Element. The Wood and Earth Elements are missing so be sure to serve some other foods from those elements to create a balance.