My laolao – my Chinese grandmother on my mother’s side – used to make tea eggs at the beginning of any family summer holiday. The hard-boiled eggs would sit in a large, glass bowl on the kitchen counter-top, marinating in their brine. They were slowly picked one-by-one by the numerous cousins, aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters visiting from the four corners of the world, until only an empty brown pool of brine was left behind.
My laolao passed away several years ago, and eating tea eggs reminds me of her. It sometimes makes me sad, as it summons a renewed sense of grief for the grandmother I lost even before she died. It reminds me of memories I can’t really remember, and the feeling of something I once knew that I accept is now forgotten.
When I left China at a young age, I quickly forgot Chinese along with parts of myself. Strict English boarding schools corrected my rude behaviour and strange manners. Soon, I was an alien to my grandmother, and she to me. But even though we couldn't understand each other, in language and in custom, she showed her undying love for her grandchildren by making chajidan – tea eggs.
Tea eggs are a street-food that can be eaten for breakfast and throughout the day as a snack. They have a marbled appearance where the brine has stained the egg white through the cracked shell - it reminds me of cracked porcelain. Hard-boiled eggs marinate in a brine giving them a salty taste, adding flavour and enhancing the creamy yolk inside. A batch can be left to marinate over several days, the best always the last.
材料 ingredients
卤汁材料 ingredients for the marinade
水 200 毫升200ml water
普洱茶叶 6公克 6g pu’er tea
冰糖 20公克 20g rock sugar
酱油 35毫升. 35ml soy sauce
八角、陈皮、花椒 各少许. star anise, orange peel, peppercorns
其他材料 other ingredients
常温蛋 5颗 5 eggs (room temperature)
水 1公升 1l water
盐 20公克 20g salt
做法 method
1
卤汁煮滚备用。
Bring the marinade to a boil.
2
水加盐煮滚，放入蛋煮 5 分钟，捞出，泡冰水，敲出裂痕。
Bring the water to a boil, add the egg and cook for 5 minutes, remove it, soak in ice water and crack it across the surface.
3
将蛋放入 60 度 C 的卤汁中煮 30 分钟后，放入冰箱静置约 48 小时。
Put the eggs in a marinade at 60 degrees celcius for 30 minutes, and then put them in the refrigerator for about 48 hours.
