Cha ye dan, tea eggs, are among the most familiar snacks in China. They simmer in big pots on street carts, at railway stations and beside the till of every convenience store, and the smell of soy, black tea and star anise drifting out of one is enough to make a passerby suddenly hungry. Each egg is hard boiled, its shell cracked all over, and then simmered and steeped in the spiced tea so that the liquid seeps through the cracks and leaves a web of brown lines on the white.

Peeled, each one looks like a small piece of antique porcelain, which is a lot of elegance for something you eat in two bites standing on a pavement. They are almost absurdly easy, entirely make ahead and they travel well, so a batch is just right for a long race day in front of the screen or a packed lunch at the circuit.

The eggs

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs

The spiced tea

Ingredients

• 4 cups (950 ml) water
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons loose black tea leaves
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 strips orange peel
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

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