Tea Smoked Eggs

Cecily Parsley's Note:

From a culinary tutorial comic clipped from NOW magazine many years ago. I strongly advise putting the loose tea leaves into a cheesecloth bag to prevent a messy cleanup. These novel eggs can also be halved and devilled for a variation.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 8 eggs
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 whole star anise
• 2 tablespoons loose tea, Hu-Kwa or 2 tablespoons earl gray tea

Directions:

1. Hard cook 8 eggs in 1 qt water for 10-15 minutes and cool in the same water for 10 more minutes.
2. Tap eggs until the whole shell is cracked. Return to pan and add the salt, soy sauce, star anise and tea leaves.
3. Heat eggs on low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stand for 4 hours until cooled and ready to use. Peel eggs carefully. The white part should be marbled with dark cracked lines with a smokey taste.
4. Serve quartered with toasted sesame seeds scattered over.