Bubble Milk Tea with Condensed Milk

中文菜谱:炼乳珍珠奶茶

Boba/ bubble milk tea is so widely popular in Asian countries that you can find hundreds of tea houses in big cities.  I notice that they are getting popular here in USA too.  More and more tea stores are opening and more cafes begin to serve milk tea too.

Ingredients:

250 ml water
8 to 12 g black tea leaves
60 ml milk
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
black tapioca pearls (available in most Asian grocery stores)
1/4 teaspoon honey
ice cubes

Directions:

Boil the black tapioca pearls according to the directions on its package.

Rinse cooked black tapioca pearls under running water for 5 seconds.  Drain well.  Transfer to a tall glass. Add honey; mix well.

My friend sends me some good black tea which she brought back from China. 

In another small stainless steel pot, add water.  Cook over medium high heat until it reaches about 90C.  Add black tea leaves and let it soak for 5 minutes.  Do not cook water until it boils.  If the water boils, it is too hot for make good tea.  Just allow it to cook down a couple minutes before adding black tea. 

Drain the tea.  Discard tea leaves.  Measure 150 ml black tea.  Set the rest aside.

Add about 1 cup of ice cubes and sweetened condensed milk to a shaker

Add 150ml black tea along with milk

 If you prefer stronger tea flavor, use a little bit more tea.

Cover with lid.  Shake vigorously for a slow count of 20.

See the thick milk foams over the top?  That is why we call it bubble milk tea O(∩_∩)O~

Pour into the glass.  Now you have a beautiful glass of bubble milk tea. 

Sweetened condensed milk can also be substituted with syrup.  I personally prefer condensed milk for its rich flavor.

Mulled Wine

中文版:

圣诞热红酒

During the Christmas / New Year holiday season, I made several batches of mulled wine.  It is quite tasty and festive, perfect for a layback afternoon by the fireplace.

Most alcohol has evaporated during cooking process, so even people who don’t usually drink can also enjoy it. O(∩_∩)O~ 

The recipe is originally adapted from Ina Garten’s mulled wine from foodnetwork: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mulled-wine-recipe-1950801.  The original version requires more spices, a little too much for my taste.  So I do some minor changes according our preference.  Many thanks to Ina Garten! O(∩_∩)O~

 

Ingredients:

1/2 bottle red wine (I use merlot)
2 oranges
2 cups of apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons of honey
2 cloves

Directions:

Juice one orange and peel the other one.  Arrange orange peel in wine glasses for decoration and more flavors.

Add red wine, orange juice, apple cider, cinnamon, honey and cloves in a stainless steel pot.  Cook over medium high heat until it boils.  Reduce the heat to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.

Divide the mulled wine between glasses with orange peels

Serve hot immediately

New Year’s Eve Hot Pot

中文版:元旦火锅

Hot pot is an amazing and authentic way for Chinese people to enjoy food and life.  It is available all year around in China, but it is more popular during winter times.  When cold weather comes, hot pot is not just comfort food, but also very functional.  The pot boils from beginning to the end of whole dinner time so that whatever you eat is always freshly cooked and piping hot. Who doesn’t want that?  O(∩_∩)O~ 

There are so many ways to do hot pot.  It can be as complicated as costing you a couple days to prepare its delicious broth; or it can also be as simple as just adding water to the pot.

I usually go with homemade broth.  Whenever I want to save some time or simply don’t feel like cooking, I buy hot pot kit from Asian grocery stores.

Pick any vegetable and meat you like.  Clean and chop them into small size for easier consumption and faster cooking.  We like thinly sliced beef and lamb, shrimps, Tofu, lotus root, bamboo shoots and snow pea tips. 

This is my go-to spicy hot pot broth base.

I usually prepare two kinds of broth.  One is spicy while the other is not so that everyone will be happy around the table.

Sichuan style dipping sauce usually includes minced garlic, cilantro, green onion, salt and a little bit of oyster sauce.

Everything is ready

Now let’s eat!

Happy New Year everyone O(_)O~