There are generally four ways to incorporate tea leaves into dishes: first, using fresh tea leaves directly; second, adding tea broth; third, grinding tea leaves into powder; fourth, using tea fragrance to smoke food. The characteristic of tea dishes lies in utilizing the unique fragrance of tea to season and reduce greasiness, while also enhancing the nutritional value and medicinal functions of the dishes through the rich nutrients in tea.
Green Tea with Tofu [Green Tea Enhances the Flavor of Tofu]
Green tea is a non-fermented tea named for its green leaves and broth. Green tea leaves are tender and fragrant with a good taste, suitable for cooking light and elegant dishes such as Longjing shrimp and green tea minced meat tofu. It not only brings out the original flavor of the ingredients but also adds the aroma of tea to the dishes.
Green Tea Minced Meat Tofu: Mix 100 grams of minced meat with seasonings, dice an appropriate amount of mushrooms and bamboo shoots, stir-fry until cooked, and let cool. Spread evenly over 400 grams of cooked tofu, then sprinkle 3 grams of ground green tea on the surface. This dish is refreshing and nutritious.
Black Tea Removes Fishiness and Nourishes the Stomach
Black tea is a fully fermented tea. Due to its bitter and astringent taste, usually only the tea broth is used in cooking. Black tea is suitable for strongly flavored and deeply colored dishes, as it can remove fishiness and reduce greasiness, while also having a certain stomach-nourishing effect. Dishes that can be cooked with black tea include steamed mandarin fish with black tea, braised pork with black tea, chicken dices with black tea, and beef with black tea.
Steamed Mandarin Fish with Black Tea: Slaughter and clean a live mandarin fish (about 500 grams), place it on a fish plate supported by two chopsticks. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cooking wine, and an appropriate amount of scallions and ginger, add 5 grams of black tea, and steam until cooked. Remove the scallions, ginger, and tea leaves, pour in 100 grams of black tea broth, and sprinkle with shredded scallions, ginger, and cilantro. Heat oil in a pan and pour it over the fish. This dish has a bright red color, strong tea aroma, tender meat, and a delicious taste.
Scented Tea Pairs Best with Seafood
Scented tea is a type of finished green tea with a strong fragrance. It has a mellow taste, strong aroma, yellow-green broth, and lasting freshness. Thus, it is suitable for cooking seafood and river fresh ingredients, such as squid rolls with scented tea, steamed fish with jasmine tea, and seafood soup with scented tea.
Squid Rolls with Jasmine Tea: Select 400 grams of high-quality squid, 7 grams of jasmine tea, 15 grams of cooking wine, 4.5 grams of salt, and an appropriate amount of starch, minced garlic, scallions, and ginger. Rehydrate the squid and score it into wheat ear patterns. Blanch in boiling water until curled, then drain. Brew the jasmine tea with boiling water, discard the first brew, and brew again to extract the tea fragrance. Remove the tea leaves, and mix the second brew with cooking wine, salt, and starch to make a sauce. Heat oil over high heat until 70-80% hot, quickly stir-fry the squid rolls, then drain. Sauté minced garlic, scallions, and ginger slices in the remaining oil until fragrant, remove the scallions and ginger, add the squid rolls, pour in the sauce, stir-fry quickly, sprinkle with a few jasmine flowers, and serve. This dish is visually appealing, smooth, tender, and fresh, with an elegant jasmine tea aroma.
Iron Goddess Tea Aids Digestion
Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea with a strong and lasting aroma, golden broth, and a sweet, refreshing taste. It aids digestion and is suitable for greasy and strongly flavored dishes, such as Iron Goddess tea sliced pork soup, steamed pork knuckle with oolong tea, and Iron Goddess tea stewed chicken.
Iron Goddess Tea Sliced Pork Soup: Slice 50 grams of pork leg into thin pieces, mix with an appropriate amount of Shaoxing wine, salt, MSG, pepper, egg white, and dry starch, and marinate for half an hour. Brew 15 grams of Iron Goddess tea with boiling water, drain, and brew again with 100 ml of boiling water. Shred 10 grams of pickled mustard tuber. Blanch the pork slices in boiling water until cooked, then set aside. Finally, add seasonings, tea broth, and tea leaves to 100 ml of fresh broth, bring to a boil, add the shredded pickled mustard tuber, and then add the pork slices. This dish has tender meat and a fresh broth, being oily but not greasy.