I know 7-Elevens sometimes get a bad rap here in the U.S. (nevermind the prepared foods that are offered within), but I discovered a few years ago that 7-Eleven’s are legit in Asia. I’m talking about pretty good sushi in the Japanese locations (not the best sushi, like, ever, but surprisingly delicious), prepared hot meals in Taiwan, and the like. The stuff is actually good. One of the snack foods that was especially popular in the Taipei 7-Elevens I visited were tea eggs marinating in a cauldron of delicious broth. Hard boiled eggs from 7-Elevens? You betcha! Don’t knock it till you try it (in Asia, at least – can’t speak for the eggs you get here in the American 7-Elevens!).
Luckily for me, my recent discovery of the fabulousness that is Asian 7-Eleven was not my first foray into the world of tea eggs. My mom used to make tea eggs when I was a kid, before my capricious young self decided I didn’t like them anymore. Silly me – I tried them again as an adult, and tea eggs are pretty much the best way to prepare hard boiled eggs. The soy/tea/spice “broth” in which the eggs steep is intensely flavorful and lends a warm and spicy aroma that I haven’t seen replicated elsewhere. And from a purely fun standpoint, the rolling and cracking of the shell before steeping yields some pretty cool looking eggs! When I saw that the Lucky Rice cookbook featured a recipe for tea eggs, I knew I had to try it for the second recipe of my Lucky Rice cookthrough.
As you’ll see from the short ingredient list, you can probably find all of these ingredients in your local grocery store… Continue Reading
