November 11, 2011

Deviled Chinese Tea Eggs with Spicy Mayo





Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

This summer, as usual, I didn't get my act together to book a proper vacation. It was late July by the time I started looking into vacation rentals and of course by then all the good options were taken. We decided to make the best of it and take a staycation. We do live just outside Boston, after all, and there's no lack of things to see and do here, especially in the summer.

So one August day we hopped on the T and headed downtown. We had plans to walk around Faneuil Hall, visit the Aquarium, and walk part of the Freedom Trail. I'd made lunch reservations and even thought about where to grab a snack (no longer a no-brainer ever since Beard Papa's shut down).

Chinese tea eggs
On our way to Faneuil Hall, I spotted the food trucks, right there in City Hall Plaza. And not just any old foods trucks. There was the Bon Me food truck, winner of the 2010 Boston Food Truck competition! Of course I had to have a taste.

We tried to be reasonable, since it was pretty close to lunch time. So we ordered the Deviled Tea Eggs. Oh my goodness. I love a good deviled egg any time. But top it with spicy mayo, scallions and aleppo pepper and you've just taken me over the top.

So when I saw that this month's Daring Cook's challenge was to cook with tea, I knew exactly what I was going to make.

Chinese tea eggshell
Chinese tea eggs are a common snack in China. The eggs are first boiled until cooked. You remove the eggs from the water and gently tap them to create small cracks all over the shells. Then you simmer them in a spiced tea liquid. I used regular Tetley black tea for my eggs. The spice came from Chinese five-spice powder, a blend of ground cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, and Schezuan peppercorns.

Making Chinese tea eggs is easier than you'd think, given their beautiful, marbled appearance. The tea doesn't make a huge impact in terms of flavor. But the presentation is spectacular.

Slice and eat them with a little salt and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Or take them a step further, like I did, and transform them into the most beautiful deviled eggs you'll ever eat.


Put your eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for twelve minutes.



Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking water simmering. With a spoon, tap the eggs all over until they are covered with small cracks. (Or you can tap and roll the eggs very gently on the counter.)



Add the tea leaves or bags, Chinese five spice powder, and salt to the simmering water.



Gently place the eggs back in the water. Cover the pot and simmer for one hour, over gentle heat. Then turn off the heat and let the eggs cool down in the liquid for 30 minutes.



Remove the eggs from the liquid. Peel the eggs. Marvel at the beautiful pattern on the eggs and on the inside of the shells. Allow the eggs to cool fully. You can simply slice the eggs and serve them with a sprinkle of salt and toasted sesame seeds.




 If you'd like to turn the eggs into deviled eggs, slice eggs in half, lengthwise.



Carefully scoop out the yolks, place them in a bowl, and mash them up.



Combine mayonnaise, butter, mustard, cayenne pepper, and salt and black pepper in a separate bowl.



Add the mashed yolks to the mayonnaise mixture. Mix to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.



In a separate bowl, add the ingredients for the spicy mayo: mayonnaise, Sriracha, and salt.



Mix until combined.



To assemble the deviled eggs, take a small spoon and scoop up the egg yolk mixture. Carefully place it into the hollows of the cooked egg whites. (For a nicer presentation, you can put the egg-yolk mixture into a pastry bag or plastic bag with a corner cut off and pipe the yolks into the eggs.) Top each egg with a small dollop of spicy mayo. Sprinkle with chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and some cayenne.



Serve!






Deviled Chinese Tea Eggs with Spicy Mayo

6 Chinese tea eggs, fully cooled (see recipe, below)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup spicy mayo (see recipe, below)
chopped scallions, for garnish
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1.      Slice eggs in half, lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the yolks and place them in a bowl. Arrange the whites on a plate.

2.      Finely mash the egg yolks. Add mayonnaise, butter, mustard, cayenne pepper, and salt and black pepper. Mix to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3.      With a small spoon, scoop up egg yolk mixture and place it into the hollows of the cooked egg whites. For a nicer presentation, you can put the egg-yolk mixture into a pastry bag or plastic bag with a corner cut off and pipe the yolks into the eggs.

4.      Top each egg with a small dollop of spicy mayo.

5.      Sprinkle with chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Makes 12 deviled eggs.



Chinese Tea Eggs

6 eggs (any size)
2 Tbsp black tea leaves or 4 tea bags
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 Tbsp coarse grain salt
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

1.      In a large enough pot to avoid overcrowding, cover the eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for twelve minutes.

2.      Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking water.

3.      With a spoon, tap the eggs all over until they are covered with small cracks. This can also be done by tapping and rolling the eggs very gently on the counter.

4.      Return the eggs to the pan and add the tea leaves or bags, Chinese five spice powder, and salt. Cover the pan.

5.      Heat gently and simmer, covered, for one hour.

6.      Remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs cool down in the liquid for 30 minutes.

7.      Remove the eggs from the liquid. Peel one egg to check how dark it is; the others can be returned to the liquid if you wish to have the web-like pattern darker. Allow the eggs to cool fully.

8.      To serve, peel and slice the eggs in halves or quarters. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Makes 6 eggs


Spicy Mayo

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Sriracha
salt, to taste

1.      Place ingredients in a bowl. Mix well to combine.

Makes 1/4 cup


22 comments:

  1. Great job! I made the Chinese Tea Eggs, too, and thought they were great! That was a smart idea turning them into deviled eggs!!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by....tonight i'm going to turn some of my left over chinese tea eggs in to you're deviled tea eggs! yummie...

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  3. Beautiful eggs, they look great deviled.

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  4. Your eggs came out beautifully! Love them both stuffed and plain - so pretty

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  5. Beautiful deviled eggs! Great job on the challenge.

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  6. What a fantastic way to serve the tea eggs. They look absolutely beautiful.

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  7. Wow! Way fancier than my deviled eggs. I might have to give that a shot!

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  8. Love the deviled egg twist. They are fabulous looking and I may have to give them a try myself. Great job!

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  9. I love this twist on the recipe!!! I am so trying your way!!!! Great job!

    Come see me at http://www.willcookforsmiles.com/
    new follower :)

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  10. How great that you got to make something you had such fond memories of, and it looks like they turned out beautifully. I would never have imagined a food truck selling deviled eggs!!

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  11. Ohhh these look so pretty... very elegant! I love them! Great challenge this month... I loved cooking with tea! :-)

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  12. Holy cannoli, those babies are beautiful! Looks like you had a blast with tea ;)

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  13. I enjoyed this Tea Egg post, but am especially pleased to have found your site. Lovely photos and interesting recipes will draw me back again.

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  14. Beautiful deviled tea eggs. Great job on this month's challenge!

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  15. I really loved the tea eggs though this was my first time trying them.Now I look forward to trying thee deviled option
    Great job on the challenge

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  16. I love it, so pretty and yummy.:)

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  17. These look fantastic - delicious, sophisticated and vibrant all at once!

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  18. I love Chinese eggs! I loved that you deviled them. I never thought of it to devil them. Great job on the challenge.

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  19. Your eggs look amazing. Great idea to devil them too.

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  20. Cool interpretation on the eggs. The cracks/web not only added flavor but it look gorgeous...beautiful deviled eggs.

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  21. Oh, I am so impressed by your idea of turing the tea eggs into devilled eggs - genius! Thank you very much for taking part in this month's challenge.

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  22. I love Bon Me, and I love this blog! I can't wait to try more of your recipes. I'll have to pick your brain about the best places to food shop in Boston!

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