How To Make Tea Leaf Soft Boiled Eggs 

Slofoodgroup Team October 09, 2022

We’ve soaked our tea leaf soft boiled eggs in marinades made with both green tea and black tea for a fun variation of flavor and color. The black tea marinade is the more traditional of the two, combining soy sauce, chiles, and warming spices—though the way we made it does not follow traditional methods. The green tea marinade includes far fewer ingredients and all are light colored to ensure the hue isn’t tainted with dark ingredients like soy sauce and star anise. The result is a highly flavorful egg with a more subtle depth of color.

Because we wanted these eggs to be soft-boiled, we veered from the traditional method of making tea leaf boiled eggs, which hard-boils the eggs first and then, after cracking the shells, is simmered even longer in the liquid. Instead, we simmered all the ingredients except the tea, added the teas separately (which ensures you don’t wind up with a bitter end-product), fully mixed them together, and then submerged our cracked, soft-boiled eggs in the tea marinade for several hours. It does take longer, but the end product is definitely worth it.

How to make soft boiled green and black tea eggs

Ingredients

For the soft boiled eggs: 

• 8 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Water to fill your pan 
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar

• 2 teaspoons black tea, in a sachet
• 16 ounces water 
• 2 tablespoons tamari sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole star anise
• Pinch Chile flakes
• 1 cinnamon stick 
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

For the green tea egg brine:

• 2 teaspoons green tea, in a sachet
• 16 ounces water 
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 2 4-inch stalks lemongrass
• Sea salt

Procedure

For the black tea egg brine:

1. Throw all ingredients except the tea together in a large pot. 
2. Bring to a low boil and remain temperature for 8 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat and drop in your tea leaves.
4. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring 2-3 times to incorporate the black tea flavor.
5. Remove your tea sachet and place the brine in the fridge to cool.

For the green tea egg brine:

1. Throw all ingredients except the tea together in a large pot. 
2. Heat the water to a boil and remain temperature for 8 minutes. 
3. Lower the heat until the boil settles.
4. Remove from heat and drop in your tea leaves.
5. Cover and let sit for 4 minutes, stirring 2-3 times to incorporate the green tea flavor.
6. Remove your tea sachet and place the brine in the fridge to cool.

For the soft boiled eggs:

1. Fill a medium-sized pot with water. 
2. Liberally salt your water and add in 3 tablespoons vinegar. 
3. Bring the water to boil
4. Use a slotted spoon to gently lower your eggs into the water. 
5. Turn the heat down slightly just to maintain a low boil. 
6. Set a timer for 6 minutes. 
7. Remove the eggs as soon as the timer goes off and run them under extremely cold water to stop the cooking process
8. Once cool, gently tap your eggs on the counter to crack the shell throughout. Do not remove the shell. 
   
9. Place half in the black tea brine and half in the green tea brine. Place them in the refrigerator overnight. 
10. Carefully peel the eggs when you are ready to eat. 

What To Do With Soft-Boiled Tea Eggs

Hardboiled tea leaf eggs are good as an on-the-go snack, but soft-boiled are phenomenal in a wide variety of circumstances. Here are some of our favorites.

Serve tea eggs atop fried rice or cauliflower rice

Simply peel your eggs, cut them in half and place them atop your hot rice dish. Allow those dining on your creation to use their spoons to slice into the eggs adding a bit of that jammy yolk to every bite. 

Top a green salad with a jammy egg

Think pea shoots, arugula, and other varieties of mixed greens, pickled red onions, fleur de sel, cold pressed olive oil, and a balsamic drizzle. Trust us; this will soon be your favorite easy and healthy lunch option!

Incorporate tea eggs into brothy soups

Whether it be a simple miso with tofu and green onion, a hearty ramen dish, or Vietnamese pho, tea leaf eggs will be a welcome addition. The broth will quickly warm the eggs up and they contribute added texture to the broth and the egg seems to melt into ones mouth with every bite.