Red Dates and Egg Tea

Ever heard or tried this red date tea? This is a kind of Chinese traditional herbal soup. Chinese believes that red dates (紅棗) are very good for women’s health. Oh, well, pardon me. If you’re a male, skip this recipe, or pass it to your female friends.

Red dates contain much iron that can help women get speedy recovery from delivery and menstruation. Apart from the said medical effects, red dates also can help improve skin become tender and smooth.

No wonder many Chinese women like to have red dates tea once for a while. This old-fashioned recipe, passing down from generation to generation, is handed down by my mother and mother-in-law. Love to make it known to my dear daughter as well.

Red Dates and Egg Tea Recipe

(Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Yield: 1 serve

Ingredients:

• 30 pitted red dates
• 4 rice bowls water
• 1 egg, at room temperature

Method:

1. Rinse red dates thoroughly. Drain well. Set aside.
2. Put water and red dates in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, until about 1 rice bowl of water left.
3. Carefully place an egg in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes for a runny yolk, or cook for a longer time according to your preference. Drain the egg with a slotted spoon. Immediately transfer to a bowl of very cold water. Leave it to cool and peel off the shell. Transfer back into the saucepan of red date tea. Warm the egg up a bit. Done. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• The sweetness of this tea is just right. If you’d like to have it sweeter, add some rock sugar while you cook the red dates.
• This recipe calls for dried red dates without pits. If you can only get whole red dates with pits inside, simply soak in water until they become soft, then you can remove the pits with a pair of scissors very easily.
• Normally, you need about 15 to 20 pitted red dates to make one serve. I like to have rich red date flavour, so I used 30 of them. Feel free to adjust the amount of red dates used.