Authentic Braised Tea Eggs (Easy and Inexpensive)

Whenever you walk into a 7-11 in Taiwan, you can smell the delicious Braised Tea Eggs simmering away in the corner right away.

Braised Tea eggs are a savory, flavorful, and SUPER delicious snack that I had almost every single day growing up in Taiwan. It is easy, vegetarian friendly, and inexpensive to make, and trust me when I say your kitchen will be smelling like food heaven for the whole day when making Tea Eggs! If you are missing traveling, making Tea Eggs will bring you right back to Asia! 

If you never had Braised Tea Eggs before, it is a hard-boiled egg braised with soy sauce, spices, and red tea bags.

The shell is cracked so the flavor can seek into the egg while making its famous “cracking” patterns all over the eggs. If you ever wonder what the delicious smell is coming out of convenience stores in Taiwan, Braised Tea Eggs. You can eat it as a snack, an appetizer, or paired as a side dish. It can also be eaten cold or warm depending on your liking! 

To be quite honest, I’ve been super homesick lately, so making a street food that I grew up eating bought me closer to home.

One of my favorite childhood memory was walking home from school every day, and my mom would bring me to 7-11 to pick up my after-school snack. I would always pick a braised egg, cheesy hotdog, and apple juice! I hope you all get to travel to Taiwan one day to experience all the AMAZING foods there; you will be amazed how delicious food is just in 7-11! 

Here are some other Taiwanese Recipes if you are also homesick like me!

• Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Instant Pot Recipe)
• Taiwanese Breakfast Sandwich – 5 Minutes and 5 Ingredients ONLY
• Classic Taiwanese Green Onion Egg Pancake (Dan Bing)
• Taiwanese Fried Pork Chops
• Two Types of Asian Cucumber Salad (Spicy Garlic, Sweet and Sour)

Back to the recipe, I let the eggs simmer in the broth on low heat for 1 hour, and you are ready to eat! If you have time, you can let it simmer for 1 hour, turn the heat off and let it marinate overnight for extra flavor! I cook a dozen at a time as the Braised Tea Eggs can last around 1-2 weeks in the fridge. When you are ready to eat it, you can either reheat the whole pot again until it simmers, or you can eat it cold as well. 

Here is a pro-tip, do not through away the broth after braising the tea eggs. The broth is what is known as the “golden sauce.”

You can braise so many other things in there afterward, such as meat, more eggs, marinated tofu, or quail eggs! If you don’t want to use it right away, store it in a ziplock bag and freeze it until you are ready to use it again. 

Ingredients 

• 1 dozen Eggs 
• ¼ cup of Soy Sauce 
• 5 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce 
• 3.5 cups of Water 
• 8 cloves of Garlic (peeled) 
• 2 Taiwan Red Tea Bags 
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 Bay Leaf 
• 3 Star Anise 
• 2 tbsp of Sugar or Rock Sugar 

1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes; after 10 minutes, let them rest in cold water. 
2. In a pot, add in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, garlic, tea bags, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, star anise, and sugar. Bring it to a simmer and let it boil for 5 minutes. 
3. Using the back of the spoon, lightly crack the egg. You want to break enough so the broth will go into the egg and not too much, so the shell falls off. Make tiny cracks all over the egg. 
4. After 5 minutes, turn the heat down to low and add in the eggs. Depending on how big your pot is, you want to make sure all the eggs are in the sauce. If not all the egg is in the sauce, add in more water. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 1 hour. 
5. After 1 hour, you are ready to eat! You can also let it simmer for longer or turn the heat off and let it marinate overnight. 

Preferred Brands:

• Soy Sauce 
• Dark Soy Sauce 

Print

Braised Tea Eggs

Whenever you walk into a 7-11 in Taiwan, you can smell the delicious Braised Tea Eggs simmering away in the corner right away. Braised Tea eggs are a savory, flavorful, and SUPER delicious snack that I had almost every single day growing up in Taiwan. It is easy, vegetarian friendly, and inexpensive to make, and trust me when I say your kitchen will be smelling like food heaven for the whole day when making Tea Eggs! If you are missing traveling, making Tea Eggs will bring you right back to Asia!

Prep Time10 mins

Active Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Yield: 12 Eggs

Materials

• 1 dozen Eggs
• ¼ cup of Soy Sauce
• 5 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce
• 3.5 cups of Water
• 8 cloves of Garlic peeled
• 2 Red Tea Bags
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 Bay Leaf
• 3 Star Anise
• 2 tbsp of Sugar or Rock Sugar

Instructions

• Boil the eggs for 10 minutes; after 10 minutes, let them rest in cold water.
• In a pot, add in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, garlic, tea bags, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, star anise, and sugar. Bring it to a simmer and let it boil for 5 minutes.
• Using the back of the spoon, lightly crack the egg. You want to break enough so the broth will go into the egg and not too much, so the shell falls off. Make tiny cracks all over the egg.
• After 5 minutes, turn the heat down to low and add in the eggs. Depending on how big your pot is, you want to make sure all the eggs are in the sauce. If not all the egg is in the sauce, add in more water. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, you are ready to eat! You can also let it simmer for longer or turn the heat off and let it marinate overnight.

Video

Notes

Here is a pro-tip, do not through away the broth after braising the tea eggs. The broth is what is known as the “golden sauce.” You can braise so many other things in there afterward, such as meat, more eggs, marinated tofu, or quail eggs! If you don’t want to use it right away, store it in a ziplock bag and freeze it until you are ready to use it again.