Cooking with Tea - Volume One

I have so many uses and recipes for cooking with tea that I thought I would seperate the recipes into volumes like I did with my puppy's antics at Sun and Moon called "Puppy Pursuits".
I know you are thinking she is going to write recipes for accompanying tea. Well, I do have a great recipe for Lemon Mousse Gateau' but I was thinking more along the lines of cooking WITH tea.

I would just like to say here I had this all typed up and then there was a power spike! It is 88 degrees as I type this, I am guessing the power grids couldn't handle all of the A/C's coming on at once!

Let us start this volume with adding tea to recipes.
Using tea in this way brewing must be done differently to stop any bitterness caused by additional cooking at a later time. I make a tea liquor and I will give a few recipes for that and the brewing instructions, to add to different foods such as soups, rice, risotto, gravies anything that could use a bit of jazzing up.
I use Guinness to give stew a different taste and bite, I feel that certain teas can do the same to what some consider bland food.
First, the brewing. The trick for cooking with tea is to let the tea brew naturally in room temperature water for a longer period of time.
Recipe for Liquors: Black Tea - 2 heaping teaspoons of black teain a cup of water and allow to brew for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquor.
Oolong Tea - 2 level teaspoons of tea in a cup of water and let brew for 20 - 30 minutes. Strain and reserve the liquor.
Green Tea - 2 level teaspoons of tea in a cup of water, again allow to brew 20 - 30 minutes, strain and reserve liquor.


I find using sometimes as little as 1-2 tablespoons of liquor in a dish will greatly enhance the flavor. Replace 3 tablespoons of your water for cooking rice with the green tea liquor and enjoy!
Here in the south we have a dish called Shrimp and Grits. I wonder how much tea would improve the grits for this dish?


How about eggs shown above? Pretty different, huh?
They are called Chinese Marbled Eggs and they are very easy to make.
You will need 4 large eggs
1 cup of brewed black tea with leaves left in cup, your choice.

1. Fill a medium sized pot with water enough to cover the eggs, lid the pot. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to hardboil, about 15 minutes. This will prevent the premature cracking of the shell.
2. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Using the bowl of a teaspoon, gently crack the shells all around, but do not remove the shell. Using the slotted spoon put the eggs back into the water. Add the black tea with tea leaves, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the eggs again, and allow them to cool. Shell them carefully. The result will be a "marbled" look on the egg whites. Serve whole or sliced in half lengthwise, placing them yolk down.

These eggs make "eggs-cellent" deviled eggs. I call them "Raven's Eggs"
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I want to make one point about the liquors...if you have any left over, you can freeze them in ice cube trays. This way they will be available for use at another time. This gives you the added advantage of having "tea cubes" available for Iced Tea...but that is another post!

Tomorrow - Tea Crafts!

Brightest Tea Blessings, my friends!