Monday, November 14, 2011

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.


21 comments:

Suz said...

I love the idea of adding tea to stews and broths. I'd never even considered it before this challenge. Mm, I'd want to try your Earl Grey shrimp dish. The whole thing looks so beautiful and colourful & I bet it tasted wonderful. I'll be dreaming of shrimp tonight. :)

Ruth H. said...

I love the coincidental timing with your sister's tea eggs! Your Filipino tea dish is inspired - it is amazing how you incorporated tea into your delicious culture. Thank you so much for sharing with us!!

shelley c. said...

I love the tea dishes that you came up with, and your sister's tea eggs are beautiful! I didn't make them this month, but plan to soon - they just look so cool! Awesome job on the challenge.

Oggi said...

The tea eggs are very pretty. I'll borrow your squash recipe, it sounds and looks yummy.:)

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Tea eggs! How cute and fun and simply the most creative thing I have heard of in a really long time. That soup looks fantastic! this post was really inspiring!

Rhonda said...

Your Sister's Tea Eggs look beautiful. I made a soup based off a fresh Miki Noodle soup that I had made before, the fish sauce with the Ginger tea turned out so well. This is my first month participating, love it! Your shrimp dish is to die for!

Jenni said...

Great job cooking with tea! I love Earl Grey tea, so that was a good choice to add to the soup. And your sisters tea eggs look great, they are so pretty!

Unknown said...

Your shrimp dish looks simply amazing-drool! My first month in the challenge and I can already tell I'm going to enjoy participating and also seeing what others do with the challenge.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of incorporating tea into Filipino dishes.
I agree on the fact that this was a unique challenge and definetly one that opened so many possibilites

Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles said...

Wow! That looks amazing!!! nice surprise!!!

Come see me at http://www.willcookforsmiles.com/

The Garlic Press said...

Your squash and bean stew looks delicious!

Don't Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys! said...

I agree with some of the other comments abut the coincidence of your sister's tea eggs. Love the soup, it looks so yummy and beautiful too. Great job!

Ruth Ellis said...

Fantastic - it looks so delicious and the photos are gorgeous

Andy said...

Great job! It looks wonderful

Vivian Thiele said...

I love all the creativity that abounded with this challenge!

Anonymous said...

Lovely dishes, congratulation. Really like how you use the tea in the recipes, so delicious.

Anonymous said...

I'm blown away by the Ginataang..the idea of squash with shrimp, long beans and adding Earl Grey tea, is not only clever, but really sounds soul warming and lovely. I adore Filipino food and a town close by has quite a few Filipino bakeries and restaurants, so I feel so lucky :) Also, your sister's tea eggs look gorgeous!

TaGa_Luto said...

Hi, Dahlia! Long time no hear ;) I was surprised and honored to see my name on your blog. Thank you. I like your concept. I want to try this next time i make my Ginataan na Kalabasa. And hey...i'm really loving your shots ;)

Wok with Ray said...

That is a beautiful egg. But the one that I am really drooling on is the ginataan. Need a big bowl of rice for it. :)

Sarah said...

Beautiful ideas AND photos! I am pleased that cooking with tea runs in your family. :) Earl Grey and prawns seem like they would really go well together. Thanks so much for participating in this month's challenge!

Unknown said...

That looks so cool.