Tea eggs are a traditionally an Asian snack that’s sold by in street markets. It’s usually savory and flavored with Chinese five-spice powder, but the really cool part about them is that they’re marbled.
While living in Vancouver, one of the handy side effects is that I was exposed to way more Asian culture than I ever expected.
When I first saw these, it made me immediately think of
Easter eggs. I love when some of them get “accidentally” cracked and the dye seeps inside, leaving a similar effect as the picture above….but way more colorful.
I have never flavored boiled eggs directly, though, so I thought I’d try it out in a more traditional way. And the idea of using tea was kind of interesting.
I don’t know that I’ll do it again. I don’t like just how cooked they end up being. You’ll see below a picture of the inside where half of the yolk ends up gray. That’s the result of overcooking. You can’t exactly avoid overcooking, though, because you let them seep in the hot water/tea for at least 20 minutes after the initial cooking time before ever considering putting them in the refrigerator.
I couldn’t really taste much either. They just ended up tasting like rubbery (another result of overcooking) boiled eggs that were several days old. I’m glad I tried them out, though, and I’d love to see them in a more authentic environment some time because I bet they’d be better.
Now onto the pictures. I got some really interesting marbling, including a couple that ended up looking marbled. Oh, and one of the eggs ended up cracking all the way through to the yolk, so the white absorbed way more of the tea and left a huge dark crater on one side. That egg wasn’t delicious at all, ha.
I’m not posting a recipe because there are tons around online. They’re all very similar and very basic, so just find one that works for you. Use whatever black tea you want and flavor with something Chinese-sounding….Chinese five spice, soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, etc.
Tuesday’s post about snowman earmuffs got me to thinking about other snowmen you can eat. We’re smack dab in the middle of winter, but beyond the Christmas Santas and Rudolphs, so how about some snowy-looking treats instead?
1. Snowman Cookie Pops – I prefer them with the M&M nose at the end, I think, but the other candies were a good attempt at carrots.
2. Snowman Gum – I originally posted about this as a stocking stuffer. I still think it’s cute for that, but you could potentially put it in a gift basket at other parts of the year, too.
3. Doughnut Snowmen on a Stick – This one actually has a real carrot nose, but I’m not sure anyone is going to want to eat that in combination with doughnuts and candies. I do love the coal eyes and mouth, though. They’re made out of grape Nerds, so they aren’t all uniform in shape.
4. Oreo Cookie Snowmen – Aww. The middle one has earmuffs. I believe those are mini M&Ms instead of full sized ones, too, because otherwise they would be too big on Oreos.
5. Snowman Pancakes – Man, snowmen and M&Ms go hand in hand, huh? At least we have some candy corn going on for a nose for this one.
6 & 7. Marshmallow Snowmen and Cupcakes with Earmuffs – At first I figured the cupcakes would be made with coconut, but nope! Those are white sugar sprinkles. I would totally eat those now that I know that, hehe.
8.
Strawberry marshmallow pops – Here’s another set that uses the obvious choice of marshmallows. I liked that this on added a strawberry hat, though.
9.
Ham and Cheese Bento – I’m thrilled that I could find some that were savory. Often times when people play with food, they go straight to the desserts. I like having fun with lunches and dinners, though, too. And if you follow the link, she has some other Christmas bentos that are really fun.
10.
Snowman ornament onigiri – The description from number 9 applies here, too. Both savory and a link that takes you to lots of other Christmas bentos. Awesome. <3
11.
Assemble Your Own Cookie Snowmen – These are just too cute. I love the idea of putting together kits like this and gifting them to kids to put together their own cookies.
14.
Snowman punch bowl – Actually, it’s more likely to be milk or eggnog. If you look in the back, there are also matching glasses. Unfortunately, the link for it is partially broken, but there are several other great ideas with full info still listed.
15.
Cauliflower Cheese Man – Hehe, this looks like something I would end up making. It’s not as professional as other pictures, but it’s “real,” if that makes sense. This is what most people at home would end up with and it’d taste delicious. Love it.
Brrrr!
I can’t say that I have seen many creative works using the Lincoln Memorial, but this one is kind of cute. As if the earmuffs and mittens didn’t dress it up enough, they really put the icing on the cake (cookie?) with the blue bowtie.
As for the reason for this strange sculpture, it was for a benefit for City Harvest. Patti Paige used Lincoln’s favorite food, gingerbread, to create a cookie sculpture and display it at Le Parker Meridien hotel in New York City. I think she did a pretty fantastic job, too.
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