Serves 6 as a snack or 4 main courses
You can also use a “tea salad kit from Amazon or specialty grocers – see end of article)
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic dried green tea leaves, loosely packed
- 1 cup kale, green cabbage or Napa cabbage, finely chopped or shredded
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro, loosely packed
- ½ cup green onions, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger root
- 2 green chilies, minced (optional)
- juice squeezed fresh from one lime
- generous pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 head garlic, all cloves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
- 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons roasted soybeans, lightly crushed
- 3 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup thin tomato wedges (optional)
- 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained (optional)
- Reserved garlic oil (see below)
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- fresh lime slices
- pinch of salt
Directions
Fermenting the Tea Leaves
Pour 4 cups of hot water over the dried tea leaves, stir, and let soak until the leaves have expanded and are quite soft, about 10 minutes. Then drain, pick through the leaves, and discard any tough bits. Squeeze out any remaining liquid from the tea leaves as thoroughly as possible. Next place the tea leaves in lukewarm water and mash with your hands a little. Drain and squeeze out extra liquid. Repeat this rinse once more, then add cold water and let stand for 1 hour (or as long as overnight). This longer soak helps to remove the strongest, tart and bitter edge of the tea. Drain, squeeze thoroughly to remove excess water, and discard any remaining tough bits.
Chop the leaves finely and mix together with about 1 cup finely chopped kale, 1 loosely packed cup mixed chopped cilantro and scallion greens, 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon of garlic paste, a generous pinch of salt, and the juice of 1 lime. For an extra kick include 2 minced green chilies. Cover the dish tightly and allow it to ferment, untouched, for two days in a dark, cool space, like a pantry. After two days, place the container in the refrigerator. It’s ready to serve!
Serving the Salad
When ready to serve, set a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and let them heat, shaking the skillet from time to time to ensure that they aren’t scorching. You will start to smell them toasting after a few minutes. Keep stirring so they don’t scorch, and cook for another minute or two, until they are golden. Transfer to a dinner plate and let cool completely. Next, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat, add the sliced garlic, reduce the heat to medium and fry until just golden, about 5 minutes. Lift the garlic out of the oil with a slotted utensil and set aside on a plate to crisp up. Save the oil, now flavored with garlic, to use in the final dressing.
Serve the salad unmixed, arranging small piles of all the ingredients on a platter. Toss the fermented tea leaves with the reserved garlic oil, a few splashes of fish sauce, and fresh squeezed lime juice to give an extra sour note. Add a generous pinch of salt, mix again, taste and adjust other seasonings if needed. Place the leaves in a neat pile in the center of the other crunchy mix-ins.
Recipe by: Olivia May, Adapted from Burma: Rivers of Flavor
Note: the fermented tea leaves are available from Amazon in a glass jar along with a packet of nuts, seeds, and spices. Search for “Burma Tea Leaf Salad Kit”. This is enough for several servings.