Last time I was at Taipei, I visited a few tea estates, and not surprisingly, I brought back some excellent oolong teas. But in the mountains of the tea estates I saw that the restaurants specialized in using tea (leaves) in the food. Then I discovered the Burmese tea leaves (fermented) salad dressing!
When I make the high mountain oolong tea, I see the tea leaves unfurl and get their original shape back. They continue to be very fragrant even after multiple fusions; so it seemed such a waste to just toss them. So I decided to use these tea leaves here. Influenced by my visit to the tea gardens in Taiwan and and not to mention my frugal disposition, I present my tea leaves zhug. Surprisingly tasty and is bound to steal your heart.
Special tools:
Small high-speed processor.
Ingredients
- Used tea leaves from 3 tbsps of good quality oolong tea
- Aromatics: 1 clove garlic crushed + 1 tsp grated ginger
- Brightness: 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Seasoning: 1/2 tsp sea salt + 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- Medium: 3 tbsp peanut or other neutral oil (NOT EVOO!)
Process all ingredients till a coarse paste.
Here I serve as pasta dressing.
Notes, hints, tips:
- Why zhug ? Mainly, the looks. Zhug is actually of Yemeni origin.
- Adapted from Andrea’s– a Burmese salad dressing. But I flipped it to a sauce for gnocchi.
- I use 1 tbsp tea leaves for a drink (with multiple infusions; usually 8 oz + 8 oz of hot tea). After each use, I dry out the leaves on a flat surface. So I collect my 3 tbsps of unfurled, fragrant tea from three sittings over one or two weeks.
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