Talk:Tea egg

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[edit] Stewing liquid ingredients

I moved the following short section about "stewing liquid ingredients" from the article so that we could discuss it:

Typical ingredients for the stewing liquid include:

• Oolong tea leaves
• Minced black tea leaves
• Star anise
• Sichuan peppers
• Soy sauce
• Salt
• Sugar

I think that whoever added the "stewing liquid" section above is confusing Tea Egg with another common Chinese/Asian street food that features egg, what is called "Pilou" in Thailand and ??? elsewhere.

Eggs boiled in tea for a snack are distinctly something different from "pilou," where eggs are boiled in a soy, molasses and spice mixture, oftentimes with pork or chicken. While the dishes look similar as they both involve eggs boiled and stained in a dark liquid, I believe that they really are two separate items. I think it is wrong to say that sometimes anise, chili, soy, salt and sugar are added to Tea Egg. If anise, chili, soy, salt and sugar are used, it isn't tea egg. I also think that once anise, chili, soy, etc. are used, tea is omitted.

Anyone? --Torasap 16:47, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

I know that some people add other ingredients, such as spices, to making tea egg than just tea leaves. However, like you have said I'm not sure that the ingredients that's have been listed here are all "typical ingredients" Sjschen 18:33, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

There is no confusion. The list was translated from the Chinese version of this Wikipedia entry, and as I regularly make spiced eggs/soy eggs (滷蛋) and tea eggs (茶葉蛋) myself, I am well aware of the differences between them. The major difference between the two are (1) the use of tea in the "stew" and (2) whether the shell is peeled or left on.

Some Chinese supermarkets sell "tea egg" packs, for you to make your own tea eggs. These packages come with Chinese spice packs (滷包) and tea bags. The instructions then tell you to add water, sugar, and either salt or soy sauce. These very same spice packs can be used to make other Chinese stew dishes (滷味), including the spiced eggs to which you refer.

Of course, the ingredients used in making Chinese stew differs from person to person. Some prefer to use a whole range of spices, while others may use only star anise, soy sauce, and sugar. The same can be done with making tea eggs (with the addition of either a tea bag, or tea leaves, of course). And having purchased tea eggs from several regions in both the US and Asia, I can assure you that they have all used some sort of spice in addition to tea and soy sauce (or salt).

Having said that, I supposed "typical ingredients" may be a bit misleading. Perhaps "common ingredients" might be more fitting. --Glenn W (talk) 12:03, 17 November 2007 (UTC)