Just Bento

This is a sort of short-term storage staple. It only keeps in the refrigerator for about 3 or 4 days, but you can make them at any time and they are handy forfilling a corner of a bento box.

There are many more complicated recipes for tea eggs, a traditional Chinese recipe. The boiled eggs are usually meant to be kept in the tea-based marinade with their shells on, carefully cracked all around so that a lovely marble pattern is revealed when the eggs are peeled.

My method is way simpler, and is motivated by the fact that I don’t really want to be fiddling around with peeling eggs in the morning. Since the eggs are totally peeled, the marinade will penetrate it faster and deeper, so you can start using them just an hour after you’ve put them in the liquid if you like.

Lazy tea eggs

• 3 to 4 fresh hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• About 2 cups of boiling water
• 2 tea bags of your choice - I like Oolong, though any black tea would do. (Even Earl Grey can be interesting.)
• 1/3 cup of soy sauce

Dunk the tea bags in the boiling water, and add the soy sauce. Put the liquid, tea bags and all, in a container you can cover air tight. Put in the peeled hard boiled eggs. The eggs should be immersed in the liquid. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remember that the longer you keep the eggs marinating, the saltier it will get.

You can also use quail eggs (allow for up to 10 for this amount of liquid).

You can use these sliced, cut in half, or even chopped up for an interesting egg salad. Or just whole! There’s a mysterious presence in our house who sneaks these out of the fridge when no one’s looking.

Here’s a more traditional tea egg recipe on Cooking Cute.