These eggs are unassuming. But they're really delicious.
If you walked into my front door after a typical school day in the early ’00s, you’d stumble upon a trail of loose socks, an L.L. Bean bag, and my pants . Metaphorical breadcrumbs, if you will, all leading to a kitchen island where an Asian American kid with no pants on would be munching away at the most delectable salty treat—a fragrant hard-boiled egg marinated in soy sauce, aromatics, and Taiwanese red tea from his grandma.
These eggs are unassuming. On the surface they’re just hard-boiled eggs that have been dyed brown by marinating in a pot of flavored liquid. They can be found sitting in generic Tupperware containers in many Asian American fridges across the country, basking in fluorescent light, waiting to become a handheld snack for an infant or the perfect accompaniment to a father's bowl of braised pork belly over rice.
Unveil that Tupperware lid and you’ll be in for a surprise. When cut in half, the egg whites are permeated with a deep brown color that graduates to white toward the center where the yolk lives. Its flavor is complex, having been transformed by a bath steeped with aromatics like star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns, ginger, and whatever else happens to make an appearance in your family recipe.
Personally, I love soaking my eggs in a base of soy sauce and oolong tea. I find that the toasty, sweet notes of oolong pair perfectly with ginger, bay leaf, anise, and cinnamon. I also tend to make my. Instead of simmering them for long periods of time, I crack open the shells once they are lightly cooked and let the eggs sit in a marinade overnight in the fridge, building flavor without overcooking them into a rubbery, chalky consistency.
These are delicious on their own, but as a Midwestern kid powered by Wonder Bread, I can barely resist placing a soft-boiled tea egg on a toasted carb. When I need a quick breakfast, a simple tea egg dipped in Everything Seasoning from Trader Joe's has become a new classic. The salty garlic crunch paired with the creamy egg has become its own kitchen island tradition—except this time, I’m wearing pants.