Yen Family Site

The Art of Making Green Tea

If you make green tea and it comes out bitter, it's because you haven't yet learned the secret of making good green tea. 
 
Hot Green Tea
Here is the secret:  the water temperature must be 70 C degrees.  Use a thermometer if you have to and use good quality tea for this.  If you buy Japanese tea, look for "Sencha".

For 2 cups of perfect tea:
1 heaping teaspoon tea leaves
Tea cups (not gigantic latte mugs, just normal size tea cups)
Water

Fill your kettle with cold water, bring to a boil.  Fill two tea cups and teapot with hot water to warm them.  When the water in the tea cups is at 70 C (or 158 F) degrees, discard the water in the teapot and add the tea leaves to the now empty pot.  Pour the water from the tea cups into the teapot and wait 1 minute (yes, just 60 seconds!).   Pour the tea into tea cups alternating between them so that each cup as the same strength of tea.  Be sure to pour all of the tea out of the pot.  Now you should have two perfect cups of tea!

You can use the same tea leaves 2 more times, just add about one more minute of brewing each time.

Iced Green Tea
You don't need really high quality tea leaves for this, just use whatever you have.  The reason that you don't make hot tea and then chill it is because you don't want the tea to oxidize while you wait for it to cool.  Brewing it in cooler water means that you preserve the healthy properties of the tea.  Drink this instead of water the next time you're at the gym! 

1 rounded Tablespoon loose green tea leaves, or 2 tea bag
4 cups of filtered, room temperature water

Place the tea leaves or the tea bag in the water.  If using leaves, stir for about 15 seconds.  If using bags, move the bags back and forth through the water for 15 seconds.  Cover and put into the refrigerator for at least one hour.  Strain the leaves, or remove the tea bag, and serve.  If you like it over ice, add more tea leaves (or another bag) to make it a little stronger. 

Go forth and make tea!

Hummus
Yield: about 3 cups

Ingredients:

1        14oz can garbanzo beans (about 2-3 cups), drained (reserve the liquid)
1        clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/4     cup tahina (sesame paste, available at Middle Eastern markets or maybe at Trader Joe's)
3        Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4     teaspoon salt
Olive Oil

Instructions:

1.  Puree beans and garlic together in a food processor until smooth.  Add 3-4 tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid (or water) to help it puree nicely. 

2.  Add tahina, lemon juice, and salt.  Process until very smooth, adding some of the cooking liquid (or water) if it is too thick.  Taste for salt. 

To serve, put in a bowl and make a well in the center.  Pour olive oil in the well.  Sprinkle with sweet paprika and/or chopped parsley, if you like.  Serve with pita, crackers, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes or anything else that sounds good.

This is good as a dip but it's also great as a spread on sandwiches with cucumbers, sprouts, tomatoes, and red onions. 

Welsh Rarebit
From Mark Bittman, NY Times

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 big pinch cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dried mustard (or 1 Tablespoon of prepared dijon mustard)
1/2 bottle (~ 3/4 cup) of dark beer (Guinness stout is best)
1 Tablespoon Worcheshire sauce
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or any other good British/Irish hard cheese)
Good sliced bread

Instructions:

In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until it stops bubbling.  Add flour and stir well until a light golden brown.  Add the cayenne and the mustard and stir until all lumps are gone.  Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk over low heat until cheese is fully melted and slightly thickened.  Take off the heat and set aside (the mixture will thicken more as it cools).  You can refrigerate the cheese mixture at this point for several days.

Turn on the oven broiler.  To make the toast, put slices of bread on a baking sheet and put under the broiler.  Watch carefully so you don't burn the toast!  Brown both sides of the bread and remove from oven.

Spread a generous amount of the cheese mixture on one side of each slice of toast.  Put back under the broiler until bubbling, brown, and oozing.  It will be very hot so don't burn your tongue when you eat it!  

Enjoy.