Cooked spaghetti using the Lei Cha thick green paste made by blending together various herbs ie. Thai basil leaves, mint leaves, coriander leaves, peanuts, sesame seeds, chinese tea leaves and salt.
The green paste is definitely an acquired taste. To me, it taste just like pesto!
You can always make a big batch of the tea paste and freeze it. Anytime you want to eat, then just thaw it before use. It's more convenient & save time. As you can use it for Lei Cha Rice as well. Advisable to make days ahead so that it won't be too much work to do on the same day.
Recipe link for Hakka Lei Cha Rice : https://cookwithmi.wixsite.com/cookwithmi/post/cookwithmi-hakka_thunder_tea_rice_leicha
For the types of tea leaves to use, I used chinese tea leaves - Alisan High Mountain tea leaves. You can use anything that you can find at home from green tea, tiekuanyin, oolong, etc.
Lei Cha Paste Ingredients (enough for 3 times usage or cooking for 6 paxs)
1 clove Garlic - roughly chopped
3g Ginger - roughly chopped
1/2 tsp Tea Leaves
40ml Hot Water
25g Thai Basil Leaves (plucked leaves only)
15g Mint Leaves (plucked leaves only)
15g Coriander Leaves /Sawtooth Coriander
1/2 tsp Salt
30g Toasted Peanut (skinned)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
To prepare lei cha paste:
Soaked tea leaves in 40ml hot water & set aside for 10 mins to let it expand & soften abit. Meanwhile heat up the wok/pan with 1 tsp oil, saute ginger & garlic till fragrant. Add in basil, mint & coriander leaves. Add salt & stirfry till wilted. Not overcook, otherwise Vege will turn brownish/black. Remove from wok & set aside.
To blend : Blend the peanuts & sesame seeds till fine first, then only add in cooked veges, tea leaves & the water and salt. Blend till it become a thick fine paste. Transfer paste to a small bowl or container if you planning to freeze it.
Ingredients : (serves 2)
120g Spaghetti
1/2 tbsp Salt (for boiling spaghetti)
7 pcs Baby Tomato (halves)
3 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tsp Lei Cha Paste
slightly less than 1/4 tsp Salt / or lesser / to taste
(Seafood)
6 pcs Scallops
2 pcs Prawn
1/2 tbsp Butter + 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt
Dash of Black Pepper
Pinch of Dried Parsley Flakes
Salt to taste (seasoning for spaghetti)
Step by Step preparations:
To boil spaghetti:
1. Boil hot water & add in 1/2 tablespoon of table salt to every 1 litre of water. Throw in spaghetti & cook until it reach you preferred hardness texture. Note that different noodle thickness cooks at different timing. Or follow the cooking instructions on the packaging. Drain & set aside.
To cook Seafood:
1. In a heated pan, add butter & olive oil. Pan fry prawns & scallops till golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle some salt, black pepper and parsley flakes on seafood while pan frying. Dish up & set aside.
To cook spaghetti:
1. Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a heated pan. Lightly saute baby tomatoes for about 30 secs to soften. Remove & set aside.
2. Using the same oil, turn to low heat, saute lei cha paste & salt for about 2 mins till fragrant. Becareful not to over-burnt it. Keep stirring.
3. Turn off heat. Add in cooked spaghetti and baby tomatoes. Toss to mix well.
4. Dish up & garnish with cooked prawns & scallops.
5. Ready to serve.
Happy Cooking.
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