Tea Leaf Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon black tea leaves
• 2 cinnamons sticks , 3 inch
• 4 whole star anise pods
• 1 tablespoon five-spice powder
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 slice fresh ginger root
• 0.5 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon licorice root
• 1 piece dried mandarin orange peel
• 1 ounce Chinese rock sugar
• 0.5 cups dark soy sauce
• 0.33 cups light-colored soy sauce
• 10 hard-cooked eggs

Instructions

1. 1

   Place the tea, cinnamon, star anise, five-spice, cloves, ginger, peppercorns, licorice, orange peel, rock sugar, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly tap the hard-cooked eggs to crack the shells all over. The soy sauce will penetrate the cracks, and color the egg white.

2. 2

   Place the eggs in the simmering liquid, and cook for 30 minutes, then remove from the heat, and let the eggs stand in the liquid for 2 hours off the heat. After 2 hours, drain the eggs, chill, and peel.