• Thunder Rice:Must Try

  Filed under Culinary Asia posts
  Mar 7

  One of the joys of being in Singapore is that everyone wants to take me to experience their favorite food, assuring me we are headed for the best, always with the exclamation “die, die, must try”. So when my friend Lai Fun insisted that I absolutely must try Thunder Tea Rice, I jumped at a new for me food adventure.

  Even with Saturday evening traffic jams and crowds at the food court, it was worth it. This fresh, gently aromatic dish goes down oh, so easily and makes the tummy applaud. And who knew until later that it is a cold herbal soup that is poured like over the heaping rice and vegetables?

  Turns out it is a Hakka dish usually eaten on the 7th day of Lunar New Year. I can’t imagine limiting this dish to one day a year! When I get back to my own kitchen, I intend to create my own version and keep it on hand, perfect for a light meal after yoga or a late night snack.

  The rice salad is made with finely-diced ingredients such as tofu, long beans, ground nuts, pickled radish, dried anchoves or shrimp mixed into cooked brown rice and served with tea made from tea leaves, basil and mint (plus a fist full of other herbal goodies) all steeped in hot water.

  Originally the process was more complicated (and probably tasted even better) when the tea leaves and herbs were ground in a handmade earthen vessel with scored markings on the inside. A guava tree branch, chosen because it is hard and non-poisonous, was used as a pestle.

  From checking out blogs and the reaction of Lai Fun’s husband Tom, the dish isn’t always top of the list for males. One Singapore blog referred to it as a “chick dish”.

  Stay tuned and I’ll share with you my kind of recipe – one I create by experimentation. Here’s to Thunder Tea Rice and to your very good health!.

  2 Comments

2 Responses to “Thunder Rice:Must Try”

1. 

   Emily Brightly said on March 8th, 2010 at 1:44 am

   How often do you write your blogs? I enjoy them a lot 4 3 8

2. 

   Nancy Harkrider said on April 9th, 2010 at 7:51 am

   Emily,

   I don’t set a schedule for myself b/c it makes what I write seem forced. I generally write more while I am traveling in Asia and the stories are fresh but have inspirations frequently so do subscribe when you see something knew. I love hearing from people about our common passions of Asian food and culture!

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