Telur Pindang - Indonesian Braised Eggs

Braised eggs are not an uncommon dish throughout Asian countries. The Japanese have Shoyu Tamago (soy sauce eggs), the Chinese have tea eggs, and we Indonesians have our Telur Pindang.

Telur Pindang (Indonesian braised eggs) are hard-boiled eggs cooked in a sauce of spices, herbs, and sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: Kecap Manis) until the eggs turn a dark brown.

My Telur Pindang recipe uses more commonly found ingredients, especially for those living outside Indonesia. Hopefully, anyone with access to an Asian market can follow the recipe and make Telur Pindang in their kitchen.

Ingredients for Telur Pindang (Indonesian braised eggs)

My recipe uses the following ingredients:

• hard-boiled eggs
• shallot/onion
• garlic
• lemongrass
• kaffir lime leaves
• daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves)
• bags of black tea
• kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
• salt
• palm sugar

A more traditional Indonesian recipe for telur pindang will require more obscure ingredients, such as:

• daun jati (teak leaves)
• kulit bawang merah (shallot skins)
• daun jambu (guava leaves)

The purpose of teak leaves, shallot skins, and guava leaves is to impart a brown color to the eggs. I know shallot skins are not obscure, and you can buy shallots in almost any market. Unfortunately, shallot skins alone won’t give that desirable brown color and will need the other two leaves.

Instead of these three, a couple of tea bags of black tea will do an admirable job as a substitute. You can use any black tea of your choice. I happen to have a box of Twinings English Breakfast in my pantry, so that is what I am using for this post.

How to cook Telur Pindang (Indonesian braised eggs)

1. Boil and peel eggs.

Boil a dozen of eggs to make hard-boiled eggs. Once cool enough to touch, crack the shells and peel the eggs.

You can prepare this step ahead of time. I usually cook and peel hard-boiled eggs a day before I plan to make this dish.

I am not detailing how to prepare and peel hard-boiled eggs since I assume most people know how to do this step. But if you need some guidance, you can follow the one from my Sambal Telur recipe.

2. Prepare all the spices and herbs.

Since the ingredient list is quite long, mise en place is helpful. I always lay out all my ingredients on the kitchen countertop, and go through the list (sometimes twice!) to ensure I don’t miss anything.

Also, this is one of the rare Indonesian recipes where you only need a chopping board and a knife for prep work. Most of our recipes require a food processor, so this is one of our easy recipes.

3. Braise hard-boiled eggs.

Place hard-boiled eggs and all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered, turning the eggs every 10 minutes to make sure they brown evenly.

The eggs are ready when the sauce has reduced, and the eggs turn dark brown.

What to serve with Telur Pindang

An Indonesian rice meal contains a serving of rice with multiple dishes, typically a meat dish, an egg dish, a vegetable dish, and one or two sambals (chili sauce).

Some well-known rice meals will almost always come with Telur Pindang, such as Nasi Gudeg and Nasi Liwet. Of course, you can always make your own Indonesian rice meal combo as long as you stick with the above rice meal guidance.

Here are my guide to make your own Indonesian rice meal:

1. Rice. Try Nasi Uduk, Nasi Liwet, Nasi Gurih, or Nasi Kuning.
2. Meat. Try Opor Ayam, Dendeng Ragi, Sate Ayam or Ayam Goreng/Ayam Ungkep.
3. Vegetable. Try Sayur Asem, Sayur Lodeh, Gudeg, Labu Siam Tumis, or Perkedel.
4. Sambal. Try Sambal Terasi, Sambal Bajak, or Sambal Tomat.

If you wish, you can add more components to your rice meal. Some will say an Indonesian rice meal is not complete without crackers (Indonesian: krupuk), fried shallots, and even more sides like tofu and tempeh.