When I was writing this article, I remembered a dialogue from a TV show which I watched in Japan more than a decade ago. It went like:
Man A: “Chinese foods are so oily. How do they stay fit?”
Man B: “They drink tea with their meal to wash it away.”
I don’t quite remember whether it was a health program or a TV commercial for oolong tea. Yet, I also find Chinese foods a lot oilier than Japanese dishes. But these oily Chinese cuisines taste so good. Whenever I go for dim sum, I end up eating a lot. Today I’d like to share a herbal blend tea recipe using six different herbs and spices which will go well with fatty oily dishes.
Tips: (1) Boiling the mixture as they do with Chinese medicine is not recommended for this herbal blend as it will destroy the flavor. (2) Licorice root adds sweetness; It can be substituted with honey or agave. (3) The color of this blend tea will look similar to the image below.
Recipe: Herb Tea Mixture (Six Blends)
Yield: 100g
Ingredients
- 10g dried ginseng
- 10g liquorice root
- 10g aniseed
- 15g cumin seeds
- 15g black peppercorns
- 40g fennel seeds
Cooking instructions
- Cut or break the dried ginseng and licorice root into small pieces. You can also do this by running the roots in an electric blender for a few seconds on low power.
- Combine the rest of ingredients in a clean jar and mix.
- In a cup filled with boiled water, add 1 teaspoon of the herb blend. Allow to steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Using a strainer, pour into a serving cup. Enjoy the cup of warm tea after a heavy meal.
This article was written by Chia.
I’m a freelance translator with background in biology. Upon meeting my future husband in Spain, I moved to Hong Kong to start our lives together. I’m still exploring what Hong Kong has got to offer