Please note that the Chinese "dark/black" soy sauce is VERY different than the "light/regular" one. The dark soy has a sweeter flavor, while giving the color to the egg. It's not salty at all. So the "regular" soy sauce is actually the wrong one to use.
I fudged a bit and only used water, soy, Wort. sauce and tea leaves. Make sure the cracks in the eggs break the thin membrane between the shell and the egg otherwise you won't get the marbling.
This is one of those suprising recipes. You read it and think it just can't taste good, but it turns out remarkably well. I ommitted the black soy sauce since I don't know the difference. I let the eggs soak at least overnight in the refrigerator. I peel, slice lengthwise and place yolk side down on my most elegant glass platter. The appearance is of delicate marble eggs. Even kids love the taste. I call them 1000 year old eggs after the traditional Chinese dish...not the same at all, but they look antique!
I love Chinese tea leaf eggs. Always takes longer to make than you'd think though. This version is okay but search around for other versions on the internet for other spices to put in.
I totally forgot to buy the anise pods so I had to use anise extract that I had on hand. They still turned out WONDERFUL and I can't wait to make more. I can't stress using the black soy sauce over the regular enough. They are totally different flavors and if you just use double the regular soy sauce the eggs will probably end up being overly salty.
I love tea eggs! What I usually do is that I just throw the eggs in with the sauce in the initial boil and simmer for a few hours and just let it marinate in the fridge in a container until I want to eat one. I also save the marinade for the next batch of tea eggs I want to make. I also found that adding a small amount of sugar makes it taste better. And in general to prevent the egg from cracking in the beginning it is best to let the eggs come to room temperature.
How can you argue with success? I took them to a large group potluck today and when I brought them in the hostess carried them around to show every guest even before placing them on the table. Almost everyone who saw them came to me and asked how I did it--including several of the children! I personally thought they needed a tad of salt.
I LOVE THIS RECIPE. I AGREE THAT YOU HAVE TO BREAK THE MEMBRANE TO GET THE MARBLED EFFECT. I CAN'T FIND BLACK SOY SAUCE BUT USED ALL REGULAR SOY SAUCE. I'LL TRY OMITTING THE SALT I THOUGHT THEY ARE A BIT SALTY. I'M GOING TO TRY USING EARL GREY TEA NEXT TIME SINCE IT'S MY FAVORITE TEA. I THINK THIS MIGHT GIVE THE EGGS AN INTERESTING FLAVOR. I'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW THEY TURN OUT.
I have read a lot about these not being good and about it being to salty. Soy sauce is just like making cheese; curds and whey. The whey is the soy sauce and the curds get turned into miso. This is not exact but close enough. The point being that like cheese or wine there are a LOT of soy sauces out there. Find a good one or get some miso and add water if you can't find the type you like to make better soy sauces.
