1. Clean the eggs with a clean cloth in running water, pat the eggs dry.
2. Carefully place the eggs in the jars. Each quart jars should be able to fit 6 eggs. If not, you can use a bigger jar and add more brine (water to salt: 4:1). 
3. Separate the spices(if using) into two portions and add them to the jars.
4. Bring 4C water and 1C Salt to a boil and dissolve all the salt. Let cool.
5. Add 1/4C rice wine or vodka to the cooled brine. 
6. Pour the brine over the eggs, make sure that all the eggs are submerged in the brine. You may need to add a rock or something heavy on top to keep the eggs in the brine.
7. Store the jars in a dark cabinet for 1~2 months. Depending on the size of the eggs. I stored mine for 5 weeks and they weren’t completely penetrated. 1 month should be enough for chicken eggs; may need longer for duck eggs, about 6 weeks to 8 weeks.

Cooking and storing the eggs

1. If used for stir-frying/ eating with congee:
   Steam the eggs for 10 minutes, let cool and keep in the fridge. They are good for 6 months!
2. If using the yolk for pastry:
   Crack the eggs open and take the yolk out, keep in a container and freeze them till ready to use.
   The raw egg whites can be used in mixing with ground pork/beef for meatloaves, bun and dumpling fillings or vegetable stir-fry.
   Keep the egg whites in the fridge if you can’t finish it all at once.