link text

Instant Pot - Slow Cooker Tea Eggs + Tofu

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Firm Tofu (smoked/spiced/braised)
• 2-3 slices of ginger
• 4-5 star anise
• 2-3 packets of black tea (loose leaf works well too)
• 1-2 tablespoons Xiaoxing or Cooking Wine (probably more optional)
• 5-6 tbsp - Light soy sauce
• 3-4 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce (optional)
• Ginger (Optional)
• Salt

Recipe

Make Marinade

1. Depending on how many eggs you have, dump enough water into a pot so that it would cover your eggs. Here I have ~ 7 cups for 12 eggs

2. Add in ginger, star anise, cooking wine, cinnamon stick, soy sauces (to taste), tea bags (remove paper tabs).

3. Salt (generous handful) and soy sauce to taste. This will depend on what kind of salt/soy sauce you have. Broth should not be too watery / taste similar to what you want your eggs to taste like.

4. Boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 min. (or set 10 min low pressure in instant pot)

Hard Boil Eggs

While the marinade is cooking. 1. Boil water * Gently put eggs in (Note - reducing the difference in egg temp to water temp can help prevent cracking. Cracking is okay as long as none of the egg comes out). 2. Boil for 8 minutes 3. Dunk them in ice cold water after they are finished. * This helps separate the eggs from the shell later and stops the egg from cooking.

Prepare Tofu

1. This tofu should be more or less ready to eat, so all you’re doing here is cutting it so it’s easier to eat and so that it soaks up the broth.

2. I like to cross score my tofu so that a lot of surface area soaks up the broth, but you can cut it however you like. Don’t make the pieces too thin or small, otherwise it will break off / crumble too easily.

3. (optional) How to cross score Tofu Score the tofu diagonally along one side Flip and score diagonally on other side. Don’t cut through the tofu.

Gently Crack Egg

1. Gently create cracks in the boiled egg with the back of a spoon.

Slow Cook

1. [Important] Taste the marinade you made earlier, if its not salty enough, add more salt/soy sauce.
2. Add eggs and tofu to the marinade.
3. Set the slow cooker/ instant pot for 1.5 hours.
4. Then just let it steep, minimum for 4 hours, although the longer it steeps, the more flavor! Ladel out eggs and tofu and serve.
5. You can also put everything in the fridge if you’re not ready to serve it yet. This is best served warm, so either warm it up on a pot, or *8peel the eggs before placing them in the microwave and microwave for AT MOST 15-30 seconds** (Be very careful about exploding hard boiled eggs).