Get Cooking ~ with TEA

Let me preface this post with “I do not cook”! I used to, but now my husband is the chief cook, and a great one too!

So, I guess if I was the cook, and enjoyed the actual process of cooking, I may have thought seriously about how I could combine my love of Tea with my ‘joy’ of cooking! This will go a little way to explain that I haven’t ever thought seriously about using Tea in cooking. I know I have eaten lots of food with Green Tea in them – custard, ice cream, biscuits etc but I can’t recall eating a dish with regular black or white tea in them.

So this post will share information about cooking with tea and even some recipes.

You can use herbal teas for a unique delicious and healthy seasonings.

You can use the tea dry or brew it to liquid form to use as a marinade.

The good news about using herbal tea for seasoning, there are no calories or fat and tea is cheaper than most spices that you buy at the store.

Herbal teas are not actually from tea leaves, but are a blend of herbs and spices that create wonderful aromas and colours. When you use true teas in cooking, they are made from dried tea leaves, and should be brewed and used in liquid form with your recipes. by Diana Rosen

How can we use tea to cook?

Tea as a spice: Simply grind tea leaves in a pepper mill (I personally recommend Oolong) and combine with white pepper. This makes an unbelievably delicious rub, perfect for a steak or a pork chop. The tea adds a wonderfully fresh Asian-cuisine nuance to this otherwise ordinary meal.


Tea as a marinade: Wondering what to do with that extra Earl Grey tea left in the teapot at the end of teatime? Don't dump it.... Use it! Try adding it to your favorite marinade for chicken breasts for an out-of-this-world addition that will be sure to have your guests wondering the source of the mysterious (yet familiar) flavour. As a vegetarian digression, tea marinated tofu is a wonderful substitution in this dish.

Tea as a tenderizer: Among tea's many benefits and effects, it is an efficient tenderizer. Want to get that falls-off-the-bone, melts-in-your-mouth effect for that dish that is great, but could be even better? Try adding some tea! Not to be camellia-exclusive, Rooibos "Red" tea has been shown to have similar results and may add yet another unique nuance for your culinary delights.


Tea as an oil: Because this is a non-discriminating newsletter, I must give voice to the fact that cooking with tea is not exclusive to tea leaves. Although it has been used for centuries throughout Asia, Tea Oil is only now making its way into Western Cuisine. Made from the seeds of the tea plant, this relatively neutral-tasting oil has shown to have a plethora of uses in itself. From a base to salad dressing to the perfect sauté oil (due to the very high flash point) and more, Tea Oil has become a popular substitute to more traditional vegetable and canola oils.


Tea as an aromatic: Although many chefs are nearly as hesitant as magicians to divulge their gastronomic tricks, Chef Lamach (whose cooking many have described as magical) revealed one of his cooking secrets. "In cooking," he says, "one has to pay close attention to the retro-nasal aromatics - the ‘flavor' you get in the cavity of your nasal passage. This is the true flavour that will always come through in your food and therefore must be complemented." Tea is the perfect complement to many flavors, filled with rich and subtle aromatics. Adding a touch of Jasmine tea to a rice dish will add many different interesting levels of smell and flavour that are sure to impress.


Tea as a dessert: It is a fairly common practice to take tea after a meal. But what about tea as the dessert? This trend is quickly building in popularity in the food industry and is revolutionizing the way we think about our after-dinner sweets. Most people have been introduced to Green Tea Sorbet, but what about Earl Grey Muffins or a Jasmine Ganache? Because many teas take sugar well, it is sensible to conclude that many sweets would take tea well. Many bakers and chocolatiers are adapting and adding new recipes to include the wonderful hints that tea can add.


Tea as a green: Finally, one must not overlook the simple fact that tea, like many greens used in cooking, is an edible leaf. For novice green tea drinkers, I have found quite often that they remark on the fact that it has a very "earthy, spinachy" taste. Why not use this taste to your advantage? Tomorrow morning, when making omelettes, instead of using the usual spinach, try substituting Gyokuro leaves! This divergence from normalcy will surely receive great approval.


The benefits of cooking with tea seem almost as innumerable as drinking it. In many cases, when cooking with tea, it retains many of the essential vitamins and antioxidants as well as the HDL's (good cholesterols).

Plan your next [tea] meal

Hors d'oeuvre: Tea- Marbled Eggs
3 cups water
8 small eggs (or 24 quail eggs)
4 tea bags of black tea or 2 tbs. of loose-leaf black tea, e.g. Keemun
1 tbs. kosher salt


Cover the eggs in a pot with cold water and bring to a boil, simmer for 10-12 minutes. Remove eggs with slotted spoon, reserving the water. Place eggs in cold water to cool and, when they're comfortable enough to handle, gently tap the eggs all over with the back of a teaspoon to make cracks. Add tea leaves to the reserved water and then place the eggs back in gently and add the salt. Simmer covered for an hour. Take the pot off the stove and leave the eggs in tea water to soak for 30 more minutes. Remove eggs and allow them to cool before removing the shells. The eggs will then have a cobweb of brown lines not unlike those found on fine marble. Halve them and sprinkle with paprika and minced parsley for added color. If using smaller eggs, no garnish is necessary.


Entree: Tea-Smoked Chicken
It's important to have a good kitchen exhaust fan for this recipe as it does "smoke". We use chicken wings, but 3-4 lbs. of thighs work as well.
16 chicken wings
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs. grated fresh peeled ginger root
1 tbs. honey
3/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. cream sherry
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. loose-leaf Lapsang Souchong tea
Sesame seeds as garnish


Cut wing tip off drumstick end of wing and slice through the wings. Wash and pat dry. In a blender place chopped garlic, grated ginger root, honey, soy sauce and sherry and process only 20 seconds. Pour marinade into a 9"x13" baking pan and coat the chicken wings . Cover pan and refrigerate at least two hours, rotating wings at least one time. Line a heavy cast iron or steel roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum and sprinkle the sugar and tea on the foil. Place a cake or wire rack in the skillet, and arrange the chicken wings on top. Cover with lid or more aluminum and turn the burner onto high, cooking chicken for 30 minutes. Resist the urge to lift off the pan, and keep chicken covered for 20 more minutes. To make their appearance browned or crisper, coat with a little sesame oil and put in a preheated 450-degree oven for about five minutes. Serve with sprinkled sesame seeds atop. Great with peanut or mustard sauce.

Side Dish: Green Beans with Garlic and Tea


1 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs. Keemun tea leaves, brewed in two cups of spring water


Steam green beans in water. While beans are steaming, sauté minced garlic in one tsp. of canola oil until opaque. Add brewed tea and simmer with garlic for a few minutes. Remove beans from steamer and put in a large bowl. Pour tea marinade over drained beans. Garnish with toasted almond slices, as desired. Serve immediately.

Some general suggestions for cooking with tea...

-- Try prepared tea in place of water or stock when cooking rice or other grains for a delicate tea flavour.
-- Don't steep "strong" tea for extra time, as this will make the tea bitter. Instead, use twice the quantity of tea as usual, and steep for the maximum amount of time appropriate for the type of tea, generally 5 minutes for black teas, 7 minutes for oolongs, 3 minutes for greens, and 12 minutes for white teas.
-- Experiment with different varieties of tea, such as morning blends, jasmines, or your own favourite, for an unusual taste! I like preparing Basmati rice with jasmine or Formosa oolong tea, brown rice with a strong breakfast-type tea, and miso soup with green tea -- especially genmaicha, which has a nice toasty flavour thanks to the roasted rice in this type of tea.
-- In general, substitute one half or more of the liquid (water or stock) called for in a recipe with tea. You may need to adjust some seasonings, especially salt.
-- If you prepare homemade cranberry sauce, use tea in place of the water. Choose a "holiday" tea made with cranberries, oranges, and/or spices. Steep the tea to regular strength.
-- Prepared tea that's left over in the pot can be poured into an airtight container and stored for two or three days in the refrigerator. You can mix different teas together in the same container. For example, if there's a little oolong left over, pour it into the container that already holds Assam. Use the tea "blend" for cooking or baking. Or, if it sits around too long, for watering your plants (they'll thank you)!
-- Remember that "tea" made with herbs, fruits, flowers only is not really tea but infusion or tisane. These recipes use real tea unless otherwise noted. And unless otherwise noted all recipes call for standard eight-ounce liquid cup measures, not the contents of a teacup, which normally holds only six ounces.

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