Foodie

Lei Cha

myglasgowkitchen October 1, 2019 one Comments

I have recently eaten and love the taste of lei cha. The soup paste reminds me slightly of basil pesto or mint coriander chutney but in a soup form.

My version of lei cha is adapted to my taste. It is not authentic.

Caffeine free: I prefer a soup paste that is ‘caffeine free’. What if I eat out? Yes. I do eat it. My regular lei cha hawker stall seller claims it does contain some tea leaves but it is minimal.
Vegetarian: Some add anchovies and dried shrimp to make it more acceptable for non vege lovers. But I really like that green taste.
Convenient: Using a blender. I have a mortar and pestle but using it is time consuming no doubt it taste better.
Not piglet’s thing: Piglet does not like lei cha so I 1. Choose vegetables he do eat 2. Did not serve him the ‘soup’ and cooked an alternative meat broth soup 3. Added fried eggs or even meat dish
Optimize food pantry: I omitted certain food e.g. preserved radish. I only had salty preserved radish but sweet ones would be better suited.

This video explains it really well….

Soup paste:

Almond
Sesame seed
Coriander
Mint
Thai Basil

Other ingredients for Soup paste:

Tea leaves, Sawtooth Coriander, Ku Li Xin, Peanut instead of almond

‘Dishes’

Onions
Cabbage
Kailan (Chinese Broccoli)
Sawi (Mustard Green)
French Beans
Black Eye Peas

Other ‘dishes’:

Potato Leaves, Peanuts, Radish, Tofu, chinese chives, Sayur manis, Leeks, Long beans, Spinach

Method:

Soup Paste

Toast sesame seed & almond separately. Stir fry the herbs separately with or without oil. Blend it together with warm water. Put aside or divide it into containers. It can be kept in the fridge for a few days or frozen for consumption in a few weeks time.