Deviled Tea Eggs by Joycelyn Lee of Burma Superstar

The first time I met Joycelyn, was at a photoshoot featuring her recipes for Anthology Magazine seven years ago. She was warm, kind-hearted, funny, and her food was amazing. She owns Burma Superstar on Clement street in San Francisco and opened the sister restaurant, B Star, shortly after the first restaurant gained so much popularity. A small group of us started a book club where we came together, talked about the book, shared food, and then went on to other subjects for hours. It was a short lived book club because of busy schedules, but I particularly enjoyed Joycelyn's food adventures and hearing how she'd fly back ingredients from her frequent trips to Myanmar.

Joycelyn's Deviled Tea Eggs is one of my favorite recipes. The hardboiled egg whites are soaked in a tea broth with soy sauce and various spices. The aroma of the tea and spices come through delicately, and the yolk stuffing has a wonderful balance of Sriaracha, honey, and citrus flavors.

Although this isn't a super quick dish to make, it is easy to accomplish. Trust me, you will impress the heck out of your friends and family with this dish. One of the best compliments I received was, "I was going to save the eggs you gave me for my wife, but I couldn't stop eating them and left nothing for her." 

Don't worry, I *think* she forgave him. ;)

RECIPE

Yield: 24 eggs

Prep Time: 1 hours, plus marinating time

Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

HARD BOILED EGGS

24 eggs, hard boiled

TEA BROTH

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons jasmine tea

5 star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

zest of 1 orange

SRIRACHA YOLK STUFFING

24 cooked egg yolk halves (from the hard boiled eggs)

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chili sauce)

2 tablespoons honey

zest of 1 lemon

½ lemon, juiced

salt and white pepper to taste

tobiko (fish roe)

chives

orange zest

METHOD

1. Submerge the eggs in a large saucepan filled with cold water. The water level should be about 1-inch above the eggs. Place the saucepan over high heat. When the water starts to boil, reduce to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Run the eggs under cool water and peel them. Set aside while you prepare the tea broth.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat 5 cups of water over medium-high heat until it simmers. Reduce the heat to medium. Add all the tea broth ingredients in the saucepan and simmer for about 6 minutes. Take broth off the heat and submerge the hard boiled eggs in the broth.
4. When the broth and eggs have cooled, put them in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours so that the broth continues to marinate the eggs.
5. Remove the eggs from the refrigerator and with a knife, slice each in half lengthwise. Gently remove the yolks into a large bowl. Set aside egg whites.
6. With a fork, mash the yolks. Add the mayonnaise, Sriracha, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix evenly until well combined.
7. Spoon yolk mixture into each empty tea-soaked egg white half. Garnish with tobiko, chives, and orange zest.

TIPS

• You can make the eggs a day ahead. Cover in a airtight container and store in refrigerator before serving.