Instructions: Make a pot of tea in a 4-cup pot with the tea leaves.

Boil the eggs in water to cover for 4 minutes. Cool, then crack the shells all over by rolling the eggs across a work surface, or tapping the shells with the back of a metal spoon.

Transfer the pot of tea, the dark soy and the star anise to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the cracked eggs in the pot, cover, and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Turn the eggs in the pot to color evenly. Soak in the tea mixture for another 5 minutes. Remove, cool and shell the eggs.

The tea imparts an unusual flavor to the eggs, and the cracked shells allow the tea to seep through, producing a lovely marbled effect.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments: This unusual treatment of the egg is one of the many ways this valuable foodstuff is utilized. Like soy sauce eggs, tea leaf eggs are served mainly cold, mostly as a snack food or sometimes as part of a cold selection of appetizers at the start of dinner. Tea leaf eggs not only have a most unusual flavor, they look quite marvelous, with an elegant marbled appearance.

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