Devil in Easter?
I like to mix things up a little for my liturgical celebrations, so I made a Chinese recipe that actually would be great for Halloween:
Then I deviled them, which interrupts the pretty surface a bit but made them quite tasty:
They’re not hard to make. Thoroughly hard boil your eggs (I have best luck by pouring boiling water over the cold eggs then simmering them gently) 15 or 20 minutes, then drain and cover with cold water for a few minutes. One at a time, gently tap the shells with the back of a spoon to crackle them, and arrange gently in a saucepan. Cover with water, and for each half dozen eggs, add one or two bags of black tea (or 1-2 teaspoons loose tea), 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2-3 Tablespoons of soy sauce, with any flavorings you like: star anise, or a mix of lemon peel, onion, peppercorns. Simmer this mix (add more water if you need, to keep the eggs completely covered) for 2-3 hours, then let cool. Sit for 8 hours in the refrigerator, then drain and carefully peel.
If you want to devil them, note that because of the long cooking time, the yolks will not be a bright yellow. Add a touch of turmeric if you like, along with dried mustard, salt, mayonnaise or sour cream (or a mix of both), a bit of finely chopped green onion, and a touch of Worcestershire sauce.
Maybe these are not the eggs to hide out in the shrubs
They are gorgeous, though not exactly your traditional pastel colored Easter eggs!
This adds a whole new dimension to boiled eggs. I saw something similar to this in the Damascus Bazaar in Jerusalem once, only they were boiled in the skins of red onion and they came out that same color. I don’t know how long they cooked the eggs, though.
These look very tasty. However, despite knowing full well how easy this mistake is to make, I’m not resisting the temptation to say:
Augh! Augh! Not Worchestershire! Worcestershire! Augh!
I love these, what a great idea. I use a bit of Curry Powder to enhance the Yellow color of the yolk. It adds a wonderful flavor too.
They’re not traditional for Easter perhaps but now I’m thinking that we can use them at the Passover Seder – they’d fit right in. I’d skip the deviling part, not for liturgical reasons but because we serve them in salt water. The crackled surface would look really pretty.
Or you could use the urine or pre-adolescent boys to boil them, which is considered a delicacy in some parts of China. Not sure I’m willing to try it, LOL.
My former roommate from Taiwan would make these eggs but would pour in a can or two of coca cola. She would cook a dozen or so eggs at a time for the dish and let them steep for at least 12 hours. We loved them!