茶叶蛋 Chinese Marbled Tea Egg

其实我很喜欢吃茶叶蛋，每次在商场逛经过茶店或药材店时都会被摆在店外的那锅茶叶蛋的味道给吸引住, 不过却很少会停下来买，因为怕麻烦，而且带着小孩要边走边吃也不容易。偶然看到一个不错的茶叶蛋食谱，发觉要在家自己准备茶叶蛋一点也不难，只需一些茶叶和香料就行了。


我特地选用了普洱茶来煮这茶叶蛋，因为普洱茶的颜色较深，想必然出来的花纹颜色也会比较漂亮。虽然茶叶蛋是一种小吃，不过家人没什么吃小吃的习惯，而且放工回来大家都直接吃晚餐了，所以我就把茶叶蛋列入昨晚的晚餐菜肴之一。对于这次的茶叶蛋我还蛮满意的，因为每一颗茶叶蛋的花纹都很漂亮，而且也很入味，我想下一次煮茶叶蛋时我也会用回一样的食谱。

虽然只浸泡大约三小时，不过花纹也挺明显的。

（左上）甘草、普洱茶、陈皮
（左下）草果、桂皮、八角

茶叶蛋

(食谱参考Steamy Kitchen，做少许更改)

材料：
鸡蛋 8粒
酱油 1/2杯
老抽 2汤匙
冰糖 1汤匙
桂皮 2寸
八角 2个
草果 1个
甘草 5克
陈皮 5克
普洱茶 30克

做法：
1. 将鸡蛋轻轻放入一个中型锅里，注入适量的水，直到可以盖过鸡蛋大约1寸的高度。把水煮滚，然后转至中火煮3分钟。把蛋取出，放在流动的水下让蛋冷却。

2. 用茶匙背轻轻敲于蛋壳，敲得越多越仔细，花纹就会也多，必须小心敲以确保蛋壳不会脱落下来。

3. 在另一个锅里加入1.5公升的水，加入鸡蛋及其他材料。煮至滚，然后转至小火煮2小时。煮好后加盖让蛋浸泡数小时或放入冰箱里至隔夜。浸泡的时间越长，茶叶蛋也就会更入味，而且花纹的颜色也会更明显。




Chinese Marbled Tea Egg

(Recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen, with some adjustments)

Ingredients:
8 eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp rock sugar
1 2-inches cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 Cao Guo
5 g Licorice root
5 g mandarin orange peel30 g Pu-er tea leaves

Methods:
1. Gently place the eggs in a medium pot and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1-inch. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs and let cool under running cool water.

2. Using the back of the teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell all over. The more you tap, the more intricate the design. Do this with a delicate hand to keep the shell intact.

3. In another pot add 1.5 litre of water, add eggs and the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, cover with lid and let eggs steep for a few hours to overnight in the fridge. The longer you steep, the more flavorful and deeply marbled the tea eggs will be.

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (July 2015 Event: Tea) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Cheryl of Baking Taitai.