Lai Cha (Thunder Tea)

On our most recent trip back to Taiwan last year, one of our prime objectives was to visit a Hakka village just south of Taipei in Hsinchu to sample some unique cuisine. Hakka are a Chinese ethnic group originally from the southeast coast of China. Hakka — along with Hoklo, indigenous Taiwanese and Chinese mainlanders — are one of the four largest ethnic groups in Taiwan. The Hakka and Hoklo people came over from mainland China and settled in Taiwan in the 1600s during the Ming dynasty after General Zheng Chenggong defeated the Dutch army, effectively ending Dutch colonization and establishing the first Han-ruled dynasty in Taiwan.

During our stay, we had a feast of Hakka cuisine. One simple dish we had at the end of the meal was a sweet and creamy bowl of tea called Lai Cha or “thunder tea.” It is believed that the tea was created during the Three Kingdom period (220 to 280 CE), when a group of hungry, wounded soldiers were traveling across the country. All they had left were some tea and nuts to eat. A doctor supposedly came up with the idea to grind up all the tea leaves and nuts and then mix them in boiling water. This created a huge volume of nourishment that not only lasted for days, but most importantly gave the soldiers energy to continue their journey.

Traditionally, the tea is made by grinding the tea leaves, nuts and seeds into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Then hot water is poured into the bowl to create the delicious creamy tea. But unlike the traditional method, which requires a pretty arduous workout with the mortar and pestle, my simple recipe simply uses a blender. When you get down to it, it’s essentially a hot smoothie bowl packed full of caffeine and protein. It makes a perfect breakfast for the cold season!

Ingredients

Makes two servings

2 Tbsp. loose green tea leaves

1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

3 Tbsp. roasted peanuts

2 Tbsp. black and white roasted sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1/4 tsp. salt 

1¹⁄₂ cups plus 2 Tbsp. boiling hot water

Additional ingredients:

Puffed rice cereal (optional)

Directions:

Thunder tea can be served both sweet and savory with a variety of different ingredients. But the key ingredients that never change are green tea, peanuts and sesame seeds. For this recipe I also use pumpkin seeds, but you may add other nuts and seeds tailored to your taste as well.

Start by blending the green tea leaves into a fine powder. If you happen to have Matcha green tea powder, you may skip this step and go ahead and blend the powder along with the other ingredients.

Then add the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts and salt in the blender. Blend until it has a wet, sandy texture.

Add in 2 Tbsp. of boiling hot water and 2 Tbsp. maple syrup and blend for another 30 seconds until the mixture becomes a thick paste. Traditionally it’s just made with regular sugar, but since we’re in Maine, maple syrup makes a great substitute.

Scoop 3 Tbsp. of the thunder tea paste into a bowl or a mug, then pour ³⁄₄ cup boiling hot water over it and stir well until no lumps remain. You can top it with rice cereal or granola and what you will end up with is a delicious, healthy and very filling breakfast to start your day. You can make a bigger batch of the tea paste and just store it in a jar, and you will have yourself an instant smoothie every morning by just adding hot water to it. The paste should be able to keep in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. 

Khao Mok Gai (Thai Chicken Biryani)

One of my biggest guilty pleasures is watching people eat different food around the world on YouTube. While this may sound like a creepy hobby, it’s also how I get a lot of inspiration for my cooking. I’m always on a hunt to find new and exciting dishes to try as a challenge. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a video of someone in Thailand eating a dish called khao mok gai which is a Thai version of chicken biryani. As you may remember, I’ve shared a few biryani recipes before. They are usually comprised of meat or vegetables with rice and an array of spices cooked all in one pot. They’re great for days when you don’t feel like doing extra dishes.

Biryanis are Middle Eastern-influenced dishes originating in South India. The word “biriyani” derives from the Persian language, which was used as an official language in medieval India by various Islamic dynasties. When I first heard about khao mok gai, I knew it was going to be delicious, and judging by the spices in the dish I thought I knew exactly how this was going to taste. But the outcome was surprisingly different from what I was expecting. The flavors are far more complex than any biryani I’ve ever tasted before. 

In my last column I talked about the health benefits of turmeric in my Gold Milk recipe. So this week I thought I’d share a savory dish using turmeric spice. Turmeric and cumin are typical spices used in any biriyani, but this one actually uses a lot of the spices I’m sure you already have in your cabinet from holiday baking. I hope you will try this simple and delicious khao mok gai served with a refreshing mint chutney.

Ingredients:

(serves 4 people)

For the rice

4 chicken thighs with skin and bone

4 shallots

¹⁄₂ cup full-fat Greek yogurt

¹⁄₄ cup cilantro

1¹⁄₂ Tbsp. ginger

2¹⁄₂ tsp. ground turmeric

1¹⁄₂ tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

¹⁄₈ tsp. ground nutmeg

¹⁄₈ tsp. ground clove

¹⁄₂ tsp. ground cardamom

¹⁄₂ tsp. ground cinnamon

¹⁄₈ tsp. white pepper

¹⁄₈ tsp. black pepper

¹⁄₈ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. sugar

1¹⁄₂ tsp. salt

1 tsp. chicken stock paste or one bouillon cube

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups water

¹⁄₄ cup canola oil

For the mint chutney

1 clove garlic

1¹⁄₂ tsp. minced ginger

³⁄₄ cup fresh mint

³⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro

¹⁄₄ tsp. salt

³⁄₄ tsp. sugar

¹⁄₄ cup rice wine vinegar

juice of ¹⁄₂ lime

Direction:

Now, I know you may be intimidated by how many ingredients are going in here, but don’t worry! We are letting the blender do all the work. Place all the spices including salt and pepper and sugar, along with garlic, ginger and cilantro, 2 shallots and Greek yogurt, in a blender. Blend on high speed until it becomes a thick and creamy paste.

Coat the chicken thighs with the paste, cover it up and refrigerate overnight. You can use drumsticks or wings, but I do not recommend chicken breasts in this dish because the skin and bones actually will release a lot of juice and flavor into the rice, which makes the dish richer and much tastier.

After the chicken has been marinated overnight, brush off the paste from the chicken but don’t throw any of the paste out. This is just to prevent the chicken from burning when we sear them. 

Slice up the remaining 2 shallots.

In a large skillet on medium high heat, fry the shallots in 1/4 C canola oil or any type of oil with a high burning point. Fry until the shallots are golden brown and crispy. Drain it and set aside while saving the oil.

In the same skillet, on high heat, sear the marinated chicken thighs in the oil from frying the shallots, until both sides are golden brown. This will take about 2 minutes on each side.

While the chicken is browning, rinse the jasmine rice. Make sure you rinse it at least three times so that all the starch is washed off. Washing off the starch makes the cooked rice much fluffier and prevents it from turning mushy. 

Take the chicken out of the skillet once it is nice and browned. Scrape out any of the burned pieces. Pour in the marinade paste and saute the rice in it for two minutes until all the rice is well coated..

Transfer the rice into a heavy-duty pot, such as a Dutch oven, and pour in 2 cups of water along with 1 chicken bouillon cube. Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice and sprinkle half of the fried shallots in the pot as well. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. You may score the chicken thighs before placing them in the pot; this way it will cook faster and more evenly.

While we are waiting for the rice to be cooked, we can prepare the mint chutney. Again, it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients and just one more thing to do, but it is so worth it! Blend everything together until smooth and set aside. Thai cuisine doesn’t typically use much ginger, so whenever you see ginger in a Thai dish, it’s most likely a dish that is Indian or Chinese influenced.

When the chicken is fully cooked, take it out of the pot and fluff up the rice. Remove from the heat and cover the rice up again and let it steam for five minutes. 

Serve the chicken over the rice along with the mint chutney on the side. Sprinkle the remaining fried shallots on top of the rice and serve it with some sambal chili paste or your favorite hot sauce on the side

Check out Nasi Biriyani ( Malaysian style biriyani):
http://thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com/2016/01/nasi-briyani.html

Golden Milk

One of my favorite times of the day is in the evening after dinner. My husband and I sit down on the couch and watch a movie or our favorite TV shows. During this ritual, I always make a little snack to munch on. In the winter, we usually crave a nice hot beverage as well. Although hot chocolate and eggnog are pretty standard hot beverages this time of the year, lately we’ve been on a golden milk kick on these cold winter evenings.

The key ingredient in golden milk is turmeric. If you’ve been reading my column for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I use turmeric in many of my dishes. Turmeric is a very common spice in South Asian and South East Asian cuisine as it is a native plant in the region. Turmeric was first used as dye because of its glorious golden color, and it later became a major part of Indian and Chinese medicine. Turmeric can help with digestion and as an anti-inflammatory agent. It can reportedly boost your immune system, too. 
And while turmeric most often appears in savory dishes such as curries, it’s also found in many desserts. It has a very unique fragrance, and I often add a little to my rice or even oatmeal as it gives the food an extra layer of flavor.
With Christmas coming up this week, I figured I’d share this delicious, spicy hot drink with you as a great alternative to hot chocolate or eggnog on Christmas eve if you’d like to try something new.

Ingredients:

Makes two servings

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

1 cup whole milk or non-dairy milk of your choice

3 slices fresh ginger

2 tsp. turmeric powder

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground ginger

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground cinnamon 

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground cardamom

1 Tbsp. raw honey, or to taste

Direction:

In a saucepan on medium high heat, bring 1 cup of coconut milk to a boil along with three slices of ginger. I highly recommend using the canned full-fat coconut milk because it will give you a much creamier and coco-nutty flavor. I’ve also found that sometimes the low-fat coconut milk can give the food an almost tart or even bitter taste.

Bring the heat down to medium low and add in the turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and ground ginger powder. Whisk until combined and let it simmer on the stove for three minutes for all the flavors to infuse and spices to be cooked. Raw turmeric has a tendency to taste bitter, so you really want to make sure the spices are fully cooked. In the past, I’ve used the fresh or whole ingredients for this drink, but I figured probably not everyone has cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks handy. 

After the coconut milk has been simmered for three minutes, add in the cup of whole milk or non-dairy milk. This will balance out the coconut milk so the coconut flavor won’t overpower the spices. Let it come back to a simmer, then remove from the heat and remove the sliced ginger.

In the mug, stir in the golden milk with 1¹⁄₂ teaspoons raw honey per serving or any sweetener of your choice.

To finish it off, I like to sprinkle a pinch of cardamom or cinnamon on top.  Serve it with your favorite holiday treats, and it will be sure to make your Christmas eve warm and festive!