Receta [Recipe Redux | Cooking With Tea] Green Tea Broth with Rice Noodles and Vegetables Recipe
"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? I am glad I was not born before tea.”
So, when the May theme chosen by the Recipe Redux team was "Cooking With Tea", I was literally over the moon and my head was swarming with ideas all month long on what to make - something new for sure. How about a broth or a soup, I thought and when I turned in to my favorite book of all times for inspiration, it had exactly that. Here in this recipe, green tea is used as a liquid base and the resulting version is simply lip smacking. It's intensified fragrant flavor is hard to miss. I ate both the bowls of broth pictured above. :-) That should say lots on how much I loved this surprisingly elegant dish. Give it a try as it hardly takes 15 minutes to make from scratch.Rice Noodles. Handle with care as they are very fragile. Green Tea Broth with Rice Noodles and Vegetables
Adapted from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman (Page 145)
The original recipe used Udon Noodles. Other additions to this tea broth: cubed tofu; precooked beans; scrambled eggs; sliced onion; nori; nuts; a dash of wasabi paste; bean sprouts; candied ginger; white or black sesame seeds.
Time: 15 to 20 mins
Ingredients:
1 green tea bag
- salt and pepper powder
- a small fist full of rice noodles
- sugar - to taste (I added around 1 tsp)
- I used the below vegetables for this soup. All have been chopped evenly to thin strips:
- 1 tomato
- a small piece of cabbage
- 1 carrot
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1/4 of cucumber (finely chopped as it has been used as a garnish)
few sprigs of coriander
Preparation:
Bring about 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Turn off heat, add the green tea bag, cover and let it steep for about 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the tea bag.
Meanwhile cook rice noodles as per package instructions. I boiled mine in water (with a dash of oil) for about 3 to 4 mins, turned off heat, drained water and ran it under cold water to stop cooking. Spread on a flat plate.
Bring the tea broth to a boil and sprinkle salt. Now add strips of tomato, cabbage, carrot and ginger. Cover and let it simmer for 3 to 4 mins until the veggies are slightly tender. Season with pepper powder, salt (if needed) and sugar. Finally, add the noodles, quickly give a stir and turn off heat.
Serve in a bowl and garnish with finely chopped cucumber and coriander.
The below photograph of my morning cup of tea is for Black and White Wednesdays # 131 created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and this week guest hosted by Simona of Briciole.