Tea Recipes
| Green Tea Chicken Noodle Soup 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 cup brewed Formosa Gunpowder or other green tea 5 ounces dry bean thread noodles 4 cups chicken stock 2 (1/2 inch-thick) slices ginger root, lightly mashed 1/2 cup oyster mushrooms, cubed 3 cups packed baby spinach leaves salt and white pepper, to taste 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the green tea. Cover and refrigerate >3 hour (overnight) to marinate. Cover the bean thread noodles with warm water. Soak until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain. In a large pot, bring the chicken stock, ginger, and mushrooms to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the chicken, the tea marinade, and noodles. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and boil for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowl and garnish with mint leaves. Makes 4 to 6 servings Teriyaki-Ginger Baked Tofu 3 tablespoons Japanese Sencha loose tea 5 tablespoons Tamari or Shoyu soya sauce 3 tablespoons Mirin (rice wine) 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger root 1 lb (450-500g) extra firm tofu Brew the Sencha in 1/2 cup hot water for 6 minutes. Discard the tea leaves. Combine the tea, soya sauce, mirin, lemon juice and ginger in a bowl or container. Place a small plate on top of the tofu and gently press out the excess water. Slice the tofu lengthwise in half. Add the tofu to the tea mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight, making sure the sauce covers the tofu. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Drain the tofu and place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until firm and compact. Makes 3-4 Servings Tea Smoked Chicken 3 pound whole chicken 1 teaspoon ground Szechwan peppercorn 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon fivespice powder Smoking Mixture: 1/2 cup black tea leaves 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup raw rice 2 to 3 chunks fresh ginger 2 to 3 large strips of orange zest 2 tablespoons sesame oil Scallion brushes Wash the chicken and pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Combine Szechwan peppercorns, salt, and fivespice powder in a small bowl. Rub the seasonings into the outside and inside cavity of the bird. Place the chicken in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Fill the lower part of a steamer with enough water to come within an inch of the cooking rack. Bring the water to a rolling boil, place the chicken on the rack, and cover the steamer. Steam the chicken for 45 minutes, keeping the water at a boil and replenishing it as it boils away. Line a large wok or a heavy Dutch oven with tightfitting lid with heavyduty aluminum foil. Combine the smoking mixture ingredients and spread over the foil in the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat under the pot to high and place a rack about 3 inches above the smoking mixture so that the chicken does not touch it. Place the chicken on the rack, breast side up. Line the inside of the lid with more foil, leaving an excess of 3 inches around the lid. Cover the pot tightly and crimp the foil down so the lid fits securely and smoke doesn't escape. After you detect smoke, smoke the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the smoke subside, about 5 minutes. The chicken should be a rich, golden brown on the outside. Lift out the smoked chicken and transfer to a cutting board. Immediately brush the sesame oil lightly over the outside. Allow chicken to cool, about 10 minutes. To serve, cut off the wings and legs. Divide the body of the chicken in half lengthwise by cutting through the breast and backbone. Lay the halves flat on the cutting board, skinside up, and use a cleaver to chop through each half, bones and all, into 3 to 4 equal pieces. Chop the wings and legs into pieces as well. Arrange the chicken pieces on a large platter, and garnish with the scallion brushes. Makes 4 to 6 servings Green Beans with Garlic and Tea 1 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tbs. Panda 1 Keemun loose tea leaves, brewed in two cups of spring water Steam green beans in water. While beans are steaming, sautÈ minced garlic in one tsp. of canola oil until opaque. Add brewed tea and simmer with garlic for a few minutes. Remove beans from steamer and put in a large bowl. Pour tea marinade over drained beans. Garnish with toasted almond slices, as desired. Serve immediately. Ginger-Tea Pear Crisp 3/4 cup boiling water 3 Tbsp Ginger Flavored Black Tea 1-1/4 cups sugar 6 large pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 Tsp. cornstarch 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 Tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup coarsely crushed ginger snap or vanilla wafer cookies (about 7 cookies) 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (Preheat oven to 375F.) In teapot, pour boiling water over tea; cover and brew 5 minutes. Pour tea into 5-quart saucepan (straining out tea leaves). In 5-quart saucepot, combine tea, 1 cup sugar, pears and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered 4 minutes or until pears are just tender. Remove pears, reserving 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons tea liquid. Blend cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cooled tea liquid until smooth. In 1 quart saucepan, bring tea liquid and cornstarch mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, 1 minute. In 8-inch shallow baking dish, arrange pears. Top with tea mixture; set aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture is size of small peas. Stir in cookie crumbs and pecans. Squeeze crumb mixture to form large crumbs; drop into pear mixture. Bake approx. 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Peppermint Tea Sorbet 500 ml (16 fl oz/2 cups) water 15 g (1/2 oz / 1/4 cup) peppermint leaves 125 ml (4 fluid oz/ 1/2 cup) sugar syrup, see below Lemon slices and mint leaves, to garnish, if desired In a small saucepan, boil water; add tea leaves. Cover and steep 3 hours. Strain through a fine nylon sieve. Mix tea liquid and sugar syrup. Pour into an ice cream container. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. No ice cream maker? Try the Alternative Freezer Method - Pour prepared mixture into several undivided ice trays. Place in freezer; freeze to a slush. In a food processor/blender process semi-frozen sorbet 1 minute or until light. Return to trays; cover; freeze until firm. Garnish with slices of lemon and mint leaves, if desired. To make sugar syrup- in a large saucepan bring 1 kg (2 Iitre) caster (superfine) sugar and 950 ml (4 cups) water to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool before using. Store refrigerated, for up to 3 weeks. Makes 6 servings Japanese Green Tea Ice 60 ml (2 fl oz) boiling water 1 1/4 tablespoons Sencha green tea leaves 2 egg whites 155 g (5 oz/1 cup) icing sugar 1 egg yolk 375 ml (12 fl oz/1 ½ cups) whipping cream Green food coloring, if desired In a small bowl, pour boiling water over tea leaves. Steep until cold. Strain tea leaves from liquid. In another small bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat in egg yolk, to the cooled tea. In a small bowl, beat cream to soft peaks. Fold into ice. If desired, add 2 to 3 drops coloring. Pour into several undivided ice trays; cover; place in freezer, freeze until firm. Makes 6 servings |
