Tea eggs are a classic Chinese snack made by cooking cracked hard-boiled eggs in a mixture of tea, soy sauce, and spices. The dark liquid soaks into the cracks in the shell, giving the egg a marbled appearance.

I was recently asked what a Japanese take on a tea egg might look like. My first thought was to suggest my ramen eggs as the Japanese alternative, but just because Japanese tea eggs don't currently exist doesn't mean I couldn't imagine them into existence, so here they are!

I've used hōjicha(roasted green tea) and dashi as the base which gives the eggs a wonderful smoky flavor and loads of umami.