Where to eat Iron egg in Taipei
Tie dan are quail or chicken eggs braised repeatedly in soy and five-spice and air-dried until shrunken, chewy and intensely savoury, a Tamsui-coast snack.
The story of Iron egg
Iron eggs originated in Tamsui in 1965, when shop owner Huang Chang-Chih's eggs over-braised in the sea-wind humidity and shrank to a chewy, dark, intensely flavoured snack. The accident became a Tamsui Old Street institution, now sold across Taipei convenience stores and 7-Elevens. Quail eggs work better than chicken; they shrink more uniformly and give a chewier bite.
How to make Iron egg
Serves: 24
Ingredients
- 24 quail eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
- 150ml dark soy sauce
- 150ml light soy sauce
- 100ml Shaoxing rice wine
- 60g rock sugar
- 3 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5g Sichuan peppercorns
- 10g sliced ginger
- 600ml water
Method
- Combine all liquid ingredients with the aromatics in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes.
- Add peeled eggs, simmer 30 minutes covered.
- Drain eggs; air-dry on a wire rack for 8 hours or overnight.
- Return eggs to the braise, simmer another 30 minutes. Drain, dry again.
- Repeat the braise-and-dry cycle 4 to 6 times over 3 days until eggs shrink to half their original size and turn dark brown.
- Store in an airtight container; eat as snacks.
Editor tip. Patience is the recipe. The repeated braise-and-dry cycle is what creates the chewy texture; rushing it gives soft soy-eggs, not iron eggs.
The editor picks for Iron egg in Taipei are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Taipei signature-dishes index or the Taipei food guide.