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I just heard an account from someone who studied in the Soviet Union in the late 1950's, early 1960's. She said when she was served given a glass with a raw egg in it, and then very hot black tea was added. Then, a pat of butter was put on top.

Is this true? Is this something common now? What is it called?

She said she was sick at the time. Is this something only for sick people?

It sounds tasty to me; I want to know how to prepare it properly, and the correct occasion for drinking it.

Edit: I just got a clarification, she was studying in the Ukraine SSR, not Russian SSR. I have edited the title to fix it.

Astor Florida
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  • Sounds sort of like chinese tea eggs (though with butter instead of extra spices) - maybe more like an egg-prepared-with-tea, than a tea drink with egg added. The heat from the tea should cook the egg and infuse it with the flavor. It does sound very good, though I would want more salt in mine :) – Megha Sep 28 '16 at 02:10
  • @Megha Do you mean the hard boiled eggs that are soaked in tea? You're right, this is similar. I didn't consider that. – Astor Florida Sep 28 '16 at 02:46
  • yeah, that's what I meant. The chinese version is much more heavily spiced, but the amount of flavor that reaches the egg is less since it's also seasoned while still mostly in its shell (shell is cracked before a second boil and soaking with the spices) - which probably mostly works out about the same, just with pretty designs. – Megha Sep 28 '16 at 03:33
  • i live in Moscow and never heard about such method, googling in russian shows only chinese marbled eggs recipes. I'd rather say it was chicken broth - she refered sick people and it's widespread to add an egg to the broth (boiled though) – Eugene Petrov Sep 28 '16 at 03:35
  • @EugenePetrov Thanks for your comment - I just asked which part of the Soviet Union she was sick in, and it turns out it was in the Ukraine near Dnipropetrovsk, not Russia. I'm a little embarrassed I make this mistake. – Astor Florida Sep 28 '16 at 03:58
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    Could it be that the raw egg was cracked into the glass, and then stirred after the hot tea was added? This sounds a lot like Tibetan butter tea, except with egg replacing the butter. – Quinto Oct 28 '16 at 16:00

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I think what you've stumbled across here is an interesting implementation of a technique, and not really a specific dish. The technique (simplified) is poaching. It's just a very unique way of doing it.

I've had eggs poached in black tea in Macau, and you'll also find the technique used in English and French cooking. There's an old recipe for scallops with demi-glace that calls for the scallop to be garnished with a quail egg poached in tea with bergamot (Earl Grey, commonly). I wish I could remember the name of it and my French isn't nearly good enough to search effectively.

My eggs were cooked until just runny, but it's not uncommon to have them warmed just to hot and gooey with the white still translucent (and delicious with noodles).

There's probably a colloquial name for what she described, but it's essentially an adaptation of a technique that (very likely) originated in China.

Tim Post
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