Cooking with tea-recipes and cooking ideas using tea

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

Cooking With Tea

Tea is not only immensely versatile as a beverage, but can be used in many different ways when
cooking. Cooking with tea is fun and easy, especially when you start to imagine all the different
ways in which it can be used - from adding flavor to stock, sauces, dips, and marinades, to add-
ing a touch of color and flavor to desserts and baked goods.

Springtime in China means it is time to buy and
enjoy new spring teas for drinking and relegate
what is left of last years supply for cooking.

Tea is a great ingredient to add to when making
soup. Just as you would use fruits and vegetables
when cooking, tea can be used in recipes to add a
unique flavor to soup stock. In place of water add
brewed tea for a subtle flavor and healthy addition.

Tea is rich in powerful antioxidants as well as vita-
mins A, B, E, and K, and a whole host of healthy
minerals, including copper, fluoride, zinc, magnes-
ium, phosphorous, and potassium. It is perfect for
building broths and vegetable soup (or a big pot of
vegetable chicken or vegetable beef soup), during
those cold winter months, helping to give your

immune system a nice boost (and heading off both cold and flu viruses), along with adding a
nice subtle flavor.

Add a couple teaspoons of oolong or green tea to the water when
boiling rice, for a nice added flavor. You can even use the brewed
tea leaves from your teapot. Just chop finely and add as you
would greens to sauces and gravy, rice and noodle dishes,
casseroles, and stir fry.

Use black or oolong teas to add a nice flavor boost to meat marin-
ades for chicken, beef, or pork. Or use green or oolong teas to
create flavorful, yet mild infusions for poaching, steaming, or braising fish and seafood.

You can even use tea in desserts and baking. Japanese Matcha powder adds a bright green
color and delicate flavor when added to cakes, cookies, ice cream, or even breakfast smoothies.

Just use your imagination and you'll come up with plenty of versatile new ways of cooking with
tea.

Be sure to stop by The Tea Detective from time to time as we add new pages with tips and
ideas for cooking with tea, along with new recipes for you to try.

If you already cook with tea and would like to share recipes, tips, or information with our
readers, or if you have a question you'd like to ask, stop by our contact and questions page.
We'd love to hear from you :-)

To help get you started cooking with tea, here is a simple recipe for Spanish Rice (with shrimp or
crab) that is a favorite of mine. Enjoy.

Spanish Rice with Crab or Shrimp (Makes approximately 4 servings)

Ingredients
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 small onion
2 small cloves garlic
2 tblsp canola oil
1 1/4 cups water
1 - 8 ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 tsps loose green tea
1/4 tsp salt
hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 lb. crab meat or cooked medium shrimp

Cut up onion and garlic
In skillet cook rice, onion, garlic, and tea in canola oil over medium to low heat, stirring
occasionally until rice is golden brown. Remove from heat. Add water, undrained tomatoes,
salt, and a couple dashes of hot pepper sauce (optional).

Cover and simmer about 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in 1/2 cup
frozen peas and 1/2 lbs of crab OR shrimp and cook for 5 minutes more, or until heated through.

For a great selection of quality teas, gifts, and
accessories, visit:
The Tea Detective's Gift of Tea Store

Visit The Tea Detective sitemap for a listing of all site pages

Stop by Silver Leaf Tea Company for a great selection of quality teas. With great
prices and a 100% satisfaction guarantee you can't go wrong. Try these superb
teas: Pinhead Gunpowder Green tea-a hearty, pungent, slightly sweet green tea. For
a great after dinner tea, try their Chocolate Mint Tea - black tea, mint leaves, and rich
creamy chocolate pieces and chocolate mint flavor. A nice treat in place of dessert
that will satisfy your sweet tooth without the high calories.

For more information or to learn more about tea, visit our other pages:

When and where was tea first discovered?
Learn about the fascinating early history of tea, from its discovery through the mid 16th century, and on
to China's early trade with Europe.

Make your own blended and flavored teas.
Can't find a favorite flavor of tea or one to your liking? Make your own. Get tips and learn how to create
your own unique blended and flavored tea recipes.

Herbal teas - bringing together two of nature's powerhouses.
Tea and herbs together form a powerful healing and nutritional element to your everyday diet. Find out
why herbal teas are so beneficial to your health.

The teas of Japan - where age old tradition meets new age demand.
Follow the history of tea drinking in Japan beginning around the eighth century Nara period through
today. Also learn about Japan's tea production and the bright, shiny, state-of-the-art factories that
turn out some of the world's finest teas.

Which three teas is India most famous for?
Learn about India and the teas it's best known for as well as their growing season, climate, terrain, and
production process.

Teas of the World
Over fifty countries produce tea for export today. Learn which countries are in the top ten for tea
production and export, and which new up-and-coming countries are producing the tea you're likely to
see in your cup now and in the near future.

How do I calculate how much loose tea to use for brewing either one cup or a pot of tea?
Learn how to measure the proper amount of tea to perfectly brew either a single cup or entire pot of tea.
Also learn how to calculate the number of cups and cost per pound of loose tea.

Is each type of tea brewed differently? How long should tea be steeped?
Brew a perfect cup of tea by paying attention to the details. Learn the proper water temperature for
each type of tea, along with steeping times, and which teas can be infused more than once. Also learn
how to visibly gauge water temps using an old Chinese method.

What do wine and tea harvests have in common?
Wine and tea share many similarities. Learn about some common traits shared by both, as well as the
exacting process for creating blended teas, along with a description of some popular classic tea blends.

An easy-to-use ingenuiTEA teapot, whose ingenious design has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine and HGTV.

Receive A Guide To Tea, an 88-page book on the history and enjoyment of tea free with your first Adagio Teas order of $19 or more.

Gourmet Tea Wedding Favors