soysauce eggs

total time: 1 hour       makes 6 eggs

ingredients
6 eggs
3/4 c soy sauce
2 star anise
2 T black tea (or 2 tea bags)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp sugar
a dash of black pepper

directions

1. gently place the eggs in a medium pot and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch.
2. bring the pot to a boil and lower the heat and let simmer for 3 minutes.
3. remove eggs (leaving the water in the pot) and let cool under running cool water.
4. using the back of the teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell all over. the more you tap, the more intricate the design. (this is optional. you could just peel all the shell off, if desired.)
5. to the same pot with the boiling water, return the eggs and add in the remaining ingredients.
6. bring the mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low.
7. simmer for 40 minutes, cover with the lid and let the eggs steep for a few hours overnight. the longer you steep, the more flavorful (and deeply marbled, if shell is left intact) the eggs will be.

source (thanks for the recipe, josephine !)