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Brewing up culinary delights with the region's specialty tea
By Xu Wenwen |
March 29, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YESTERDAY, producers began picking Longjing (Dragon Well) tea in Hangzhou, as the city known as the tea capital of China entices visitors to come and enjoy the spring weather, the scenery - and some very special beverages.
From now until the Qingming Festival, April 4 this year, is the "fighting time" for tea farmers in Hangzhou, racing to pick the prime and costliest Mingqian tea - Longjing tea before Qingming.
On average, its whole sale price is more than 6,000 yuan (US$948) a kilogram this year. However, the market price of Mingqian tea varies considerably. Earlier this week, the presale price for a batch hit a record 360,000 yuan per kilogram, making it more expensive than gold.
Longjing tea picked after Qingming is also excellent, but is sold at a lower price.
While not everybody can afford luxurious tea more expensive than gold, there are plenty of more modestly priced brews available at tea houses and restaurants in Hangzhou. Among varieties on offer are refined green tea from Meijiawu Village and Longjing Village.
Besides producing fine tea to enjoy as a beverage, Hangzhou people also use tea in their cuisine, and some dishes have acquired a nationwide reputation. Here are two examples of Hangzhou's tea-based cuisine.
Longjing shrimp
Longjing shrimp is a typical example of Hangzhou cuisine, renowned for being mild and gentle, and now is the best season to try the dish as Longjing tea leaves are freshly picked.
It combines the shoots of Longjing tea and tender shelled shrimps, their orange-pink color giving the dish an elegant look. Appropriately, it is accompanied by Longjing tea.
This dish pleases the palate by bringing together the lingering fragrance of the tea and the crunchy texture of the shrimp.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), people in Anhui Province would make dishes that had other high-quality new teas among their ingredients. People in Hangzhou added their own twist, cooking fresh shrimps with Longjing tea.
The classical way of eating this dish is to alternate between sipping the tea and taking one shrimp. In this way, the sweetness of the shrimp and the fragrance of the tea are combined.
Where to try Longjing shrimp:
￥ Louwailou Restaurant
Address: 30 Gushan Rd
Tel: (0571) 8796-9682
￥ Xinkaiyuan Restaurant
Address: 142 Jiefang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8702-2222
￥ Huang Fan?er Restaurant
Address: 53 Gaoyin St
Tel: (0571) 8780-7768
Tea-scented chicken
Tea-scented chicken is not a traditional Hangzhou dish but a newly invented one that has quickly became popular.
Chefs in Grandma's Kitchen, a leading local restaurant chain, invented the dish, and its recipe is a contemporary marriage of two of Hangzhou's traditional dishes: Beggar's chicken and the aforementioned Longjing shrimp.
Beggar's chicken is wrapped in mud and cooked in a fire, so a tight clay crust forms as the bird cooks. When the crust is cracked open, the feathers come off with it, revealing juicy, tender meat and giving off a delicious aroma.
To make tea-scented chicken, the bird is wrapped tin foil, roasted, then served in a clay pot soaked in Longjing tea leaves. The chicken meat is perfumed by the leaves and should be moist and fall-of-your-fork tender.
Where to try tea-scented chicken:
Grandma?s Kitchen
There are more than 20 branches in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Check www.waipojia.com.cn (Chinese only) for locations.
Some tea dishes you can cook home
Green tea has been long considered a healthy beverage, with evidence suggesting that regular drinkers may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Some tea-based recipes are easy to make at home.
Tea and tomato soup
Making this soup is simplicity itself. Peel and dice tomatoes and then add some green tea leaves and salt and infuse with hot water. The soup is great for people with hypertension and coronary disease, as both of tomatoes and green tea are believed to contain antioxidants that benefit the heart.
Tofu with tea leaves
Another easy-to-make dish that will please vegetarians. Prepare a cup of green tea and take out the tea leaves ? tender ones are preferred. Then boil the tofu gently for five minutes. Finally, take the tofu out and add salt, some olive or sesame oil and the green tea.
Fish steamed with tea
Marinate the fish with ginger, wine and pepper for a quarter of an hour and then stuff with infused green tea leaves and steam it.
From now until the Qingming Festival, April 4 this year, is the "fighting time" for tea farmers in Hangzhou, racing to pick the prime and costliest Mingqian tea - Longjing tea before Qingming.
On average, its whole sale price is more than 6,000 yuan (US$948) a kilogram this year. However, the market price of Mingqian tea varies considerably. Earlier this week, the presale price for a batch hit a record 360,000 yuan per kilogram, making it more expensive than gold.
Longjing tea picked after Qingming is also excellent, but is sold at a lower price.
While not everybody can afford luxurious tea more expensive than gold, there are plenty of more modestly priced brews available at tea houses and restaurants in Hangzhou. Among varieties on offer are refined green tea from Meijiawu Village and Longjing Village.
Besides producing fine tea to enjoy as a beverage, Hangzhou people also use tea in their cuisine, and some dishes have acquired a nationwide reputation. Here are two examples of Hangzhou's tea-based cuisine.
Longjing shrimp
Longjing shrimp is a typical example of Hangzhou cuisine, renowned for being mild and gentle, and now is the best season to try the dish as Longjing tea leaves are freshly picked.
It combines the shoots of Longjing tea and tender shelled shrimps, their orange-pink color giving the dish an elegant look. Appropriately, it is accompanied by Longjing tea.
This dish pleases the palate by bringing together the lingering fragrance of the tea and the crunchy texture of the shrimp.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), people in Anhui Province would make dishes that had other high-quality new teas among their ingredients. People in Hangzhou added their own twist, cooking fresh shrimps with Longjing tea.
The classical way of eating this dish is to alternate between sipping the tea and taking one shrimp. In this way, the sweetness of the shrimp and the fragrance of the tea are combined.
Where to try Longjing shrimp:
￥ Louwailou Restaurant
Address: 30 Gushan Rd
Tel: (0571) 8796-9682
￥ Xinkaiyuan Restaurant
Address: 142 Jiefang Rd
Tel: (0571) 8702-2222
￥ Huang Fan?er Restaurant
Address: 53 Gaoyin St
Tel: (0571) 8780-7768
Tea-scented chicken
Tea-scented chicken is not a traditional Hangzhou dish but a newly invented one that has quickly became popular.
Chefs in Grandma's Kitchen, a leading local restaurant chain, invented the dish, and its recipe is a contemporary marriage of two of Hangzhou's traditional dishes: Beggar's chicken and the aforementioned Longjing shrimp.
Beggar's chicken is wrapped in mud and cooked in a fire, so a tight clay crust forms as the bird cooks. When the crust is cracked open, the feathers come off with it, revealing juicy, tender meat and giving off a delicious aroma.
To make tea-scented chicken, the bird is wrapped tin foil, roasted, then served in a clay pot soaked in Longjing tea leaves. The chicken meat is perfumed by the leaves and should be moist and fall-of-your-fork tender.
Where to try tea-scented chicken:
Grandma?s Kitchen
There are more than 20 branches in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Check www.waipojia.com.cn (Chinese only) for locations.
Some tea dishes you can cook home
Green tea has been long considered a healthy beverage, with evidence suggesting that regular drinkers may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Some tea-based recipes are easy to make at home.
Tea and tomato soup
Making this soup is simplicity itself. Peel and dice tomatoes and then add some green tea leaves and salt and infuse with hot water. The soup is great for people with hypertension and coronary disease, as both of tomatoes and green tea are believed to contain antioxidants that benefit the heart.
Tofu with tea leaves
Another easy-to-make dish that will please vegetarians. Prepare a cup of green tea and take out the tea leaves ? tender ones are preferred. Then boil the tofu gently for five minutes. Finally, take the tofu out and add salt, some olive or sesame oil and the green tea.
Fish steamed with tea
Marinate the fish with ginger, wine and pepper for a quarter of an hour and then stuff with infused green tea leaves and steam it.
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