A recipe today to celebrate the year of the Rabbit. The Lunar New Year is celebrated by many millions all around the globe, and is a time of promise and wishing your loved ones good fortune for the coming year. A beautiful way to ring in the year of the Rooster is to make these Chinese tea eggs. Marbled eggs like these, flavoured by steeping in tea and spices, are a popular snack in China and will look amazing in a New Year’s spread. The orange rind in the recipe will signify good luck in the New Year!

Ingredients

• 6 free range eggs

• 3 tbsp of your favourite Chinese black leaf tea (like Oolong, or Lapsang Souchong)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 star anise

• 1 tbsp five spice powder

• 2 inch (mandarin) orange skin

• water, to cover eggs

Method

1. Put your eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and run the eggs under cold water.

2. Gently tap the eggs all over with the back of a spoon to break the outer shell. Be careful not to break the inner membrane.

3. In a separate pot, combine all the other ingredients together. Start with three cups of water, add ingredients, bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. Add all the lightly cracked eggs and add more water if necessary to cover the eggs completely.

4. Simmer mixture for 2 minutes, turn heat off and let steep for 4 hours or overnight.