THE DARING COOKS’ NOVEMBER, 2011 CHALLENGE: Cooking with Tea!

Sara of Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks' hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

I was surprised when I read this month's challenge at the forums because I had just finished taking pictures of my sister's current obsession...making tea eggs! So instead of making my own tea eggs...I'm just going to post this picture of what she made and the recipe she used for it which she adapted from Jaden Hair's blog Steamy Kitchen.

TEA EGGS

6 eggs
3/4 cup soy sauce

2 tea bags of Earl Grey

1 teaspoon sugar

Place eggs in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove eggs, leaving water in the pot and gently tap eggs with back of spoon to crack the shell all over. Return eggs to the pot of water and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately lower heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. Cover pot with lid and let steep overnight.

*When the liquid is cool enough, we transfer them to containers and store them in the refrigerator.

And another surprise...I actually have Sara Perry's book in my collection. But instead of following recipes there, I decided to get creative and follow in the footsteps of my fellow Daring Cooks Oggi and Pia in using tea for Filipino dishes and here is what I came up with.

GINATAANG KALABASA AT SITAW (Squash and Yard Long Beans Cooked in Coconut Milk)

1 Tablespoon Lauric Oil

1 medium Onion

2 cloves Garlic

1 bundle Yard Long Beans

1/4 of a small Squash

1/4 kilo Shrimps

1 cup grated Coconut or 1 cup Coconut Milk

1 bag of Earl Grey tea

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fish Sauce (Patis) to taste

To Make Coconut Milk: Pour 1 cup hot water over grated coconut. Let cool and squeeze grated coconut. Strain liquid and discard squeezed coconut. Set aside the liquid in the refrigerator if not using right away.

Peel and devein shrimps, set aside.

*I made shrimp stock by boiling the heads and shells with water and celery leaves.

Peel and mince onion. Peel, crush and mince garlic. Wash beans and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Peel squash and Cut into small wedges. Open the tea bag and pour contents in coconut milk.

Preheat pan with oil, saute onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the squash and the shrimp stock (just enough liquid to almost cover the squash pieces). Cook for about 5 minutes. Add cococonut milk and beans and let simmer until vegetables are tender but not overcooked. Add the shrimps and toss to coat with the mixture, cooking for about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and fish sauce. Serve hot.

*This is the first time I've tried incorporating tea into a Filipino dish but I think the addition of Earl Grey tea to the coconut added a new dimension to the taste. I was tempted to add shrimp paste to make it more tasty but it might overpower the tea so I decided against it.

Thank you Sara for this month's challenge, it is indeed unique! For other Daring Cooks tea recipes click here.