As a beverage, tea has long been popular worldwide, but its use as an ingredient in cooking is less known. In fact, tea not only imparts a unique aroma to dishes but also helps cut through greasiness. Below, experts share some cooking tips on using tea in cuisine.
Green tea is best paired with lightly flavored dishes.
Green teas like West Lake Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng, and Biluochun are unfermented, with tender, fragrant leaves and a pleasant taste, making them suitable for preparing light and elegant dishes such as Longjing Shrimp and Green Minced Pork Tofu. When making Longjing Shrimp, first brew the tea leaves. When the shrimp is about 70% cooked, pour the tea leaves and their liquid into the wok, then add some yellow wine and a pinch of salt, and stir-fry until done. For the tofu, simply sprinkle ground green tea over the prepared minced pork tofu.
Black tea is suitable for strongly flavored and dark-colored dishes.
Black tea is fully fermented, with Keemun and Dianhong being the most famous varieties. With its bitter and astringent taste, black tea is suitable for strongly flavored and dark-colored dishes, helping to remove fishy odors and cut through grease, and it also has certain stomach-soothing effects. Examples include steamed Mandarin fish with black tea and diced chicken with black tea. When steaming the fish, wash the tea leaves and, along with other seasonings, place some in the fish's cavity and some on top, then steam until cooked. For the diced chicken, you can stir-fry the black tea first, set it aside, and then add it back to stir with the nearly cooked chicken.
Oolong tea is a good match for rich, greasy dishes.
Oolong tea is semi-fermented, with a strong, lasting aroma, a mellow, refreshing taste, and the effect of aiding digestion. It is also suitable for pairing with rich, strongly flavored dishes, such as Iron Goddess of Mercy Duck. This dish uses tea broth; simply add the steeped Tieguanyin tea water to the water when stewing the duck.
Finally, it should be noted that the ratio of tea to ingredients is generally controlled at around 1:100, and you can adjust it according to your own taste.