Tea Cooking! The best kind of cooking.

So, today I decided to try a new recipe from the book of tea infused cooking that I own. One of the ones that seemed pretty easy to do was Pu’erh infused grilled tofu with a Thai-style peanut sauce that was also Pu’erh infused. I’ve been on a BIG Peanut Noodle kick recently and am not the world’s greatest cook either so I figured that this was the recipe for me.

For the record, the recipe didn’t specify what kind of Pu’erh to use so this is the one I chose because I have TONS of it. It’s one my mom brought back for me from her vacation in Vancouver. The shop owner had recommended it to her, and she got half a cake for me as a “sample” rather than a whole cake. Silly woman.

I’m not gonna write out the whole recipe because that would take forever, but suffice to say that it was pretty easy to follow along with. The grilled tofu was marinated first in a soy sauce and pu’erh mixture and the sauce used the left over marinade, peanut butter, hot sauce, lemon, honey and more steeped up pu’erh. The dish was then finished off with a fresh mint leaf garnish. It took like MAYBE half an hour to make? Tops.

Here’s a pretty picture of the finished dish: https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15094473_10208739152930131_3931681742653876829_n.jpg?oh=7ee279706bc60221250013cb6456286e&oe=588C8DDB

Sadly, I have to say that this isn’t the best tea infused dish I’ve ever made. The big issue for me wasn’t actually the flavour though, but the texture. I generally like tofu a fair bit; I mean as a vegetarian you sort of have to. I think it was something to do with the marinading process; but the texture of the tofu was just so gross. As I bit into it the pu’erh almost ‘disintegrated’ into these weird, tough rubbery strands that felt gross and were sort of tough to chew. Definitely not a great thing.

But that said; the tofu was also the only area of the dish where I felt like I could actually taste the pu’erh. I mean, it was a milder flavour than just drinking a straight up cup of pu’erh but the smoky elements of the tea, and earthiness came through. And of course lots of umami and saltyness from the soy.

The sauce was… interesting.

I think the reason it didn’t initially sit right with me if that it’s a lot more acidic tasting than the sauce I’m used to that comes with my regular, ‘Go To’ peanut noodles. That one has some kick to it from spices, but is mostly creamy and uses coconut milk too which is a nice contrast. This doesn’t have any sort of ‘cream’ element to it other than the peanut butter itself. What it DOES have is a lot of fresh lemon juice. So it’s oddly a bit sour, with a mild heat from the hot sauce and lots of salt from the soy. However once I adjusted to the differences I found it really nice. Couldn’t taste the Pu’erh though.

The recipe makes A LOT of sauce – more than any sane person would ever need to use for the dish itself. So, I have a TON extra. Looks like I’ll be adding peanut sauce to everything for days to use it up. I can’t stand food waste, so just tossing it out isn’t an option. Also; if I make this one again I’m skipping the mint. It looked beautiful on the dish, but the flavour didn’t compliment it at all. I ended up picking most of the mint off and just eating it straight instead; that was far tastier.

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Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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