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Chinese Almond Tea ~ 杏仁茶


As the name implies, I've used  Chinese almonds to make this Chinese Almond Tea.  Chinese almonds are divided into two types, one is sweet  South almonds  (南杏)  and the other is bitter North (北杏) almonds.  The bitter almonds have a very distinctive scent which may be sweet smelling to some but ill-scented to others.  These almonds are not the same  kind of almonds that we use for baking, cooking and snacking.  They are in fact 'Apricot kernels' and are only available at the Chinese medicinal stores.  The bitter almonds  have a mild toxicity and cannot be eaten raw, only upon cooking or roasting can they be consumed.  These almonds help to relieve heatiness and soothes coughs.  The ratio to this recipe is 4 sweet almonds to 1 bitter almond.  Rice or glutinous rice was added to the recipe and I was thrilled to be rewarded with a silky smooth, sweet smelling creamy tea  and most important is that all my family members relish the sweet scent of these almonds!












This tea is best paired with Chinese Churros aka 'You Tiao'. 
 I addd a wee pinch of salt into my bowl and it was absolutely Yum!


Recipe for Chinese Almond Tea  ~  杏仁茶       (adapted from  'here' )   Yield : 4 to 5 servings                                   

    Ingredients
  • 80 gm sweet almonds
  • 20 gm bitter almonds
  • 40 gm rice or glutinous rice
  • 40 gm rock sugar 
  • 1200 ml water  
  • pinch of salt  (optional)
Method
  1. Wash the sweet and bitter almonds, rice thoroughly and place in a container.  Soak with 600 ml water.  Cover and keep in the fridge, overnight.
  2. Pour out the above into a liquidiser together with the water and blend till fine.  Place a muslin or a very fine cloth over a sieve and place this over a pot to catch the juice.   Strain the juice from the pulp as much as possible.  
  3. Put the pulp back into the liquidiser, add 150 ml of water, and blend.  Strain the juice from the pulp.  Scoop up the pulp, add another 150 ml of water and blend again.  Strain the juice from the pulp for the last time.   
  4. Finally, squeeze out as much juice as you can from the pulp.  Discard the pulp.  
  5. Pour the juice into a pot, add in the remaining 300 ml water, cook over medium heat, stirring continously to avoid a skin forming at the bottom.  Add in the rock sugar, simmer till dissolved.   Add in more water if a thinner consistency is preferred.  Fine tune to desired taste.  
  6. Ladle onto serving bowls.   Serve hot or warm. You may opt to add in a tiny pinch of salt.
Note :  Once cooled, the tea will thicken and you can add water to dilute and reheat it.





I am submitting this to  Best Recipes For Everyone, April 2015, event theme 'Fun with Almond' organised by  Fion of XuanHom's Mom Kitchen Dairy and hosted by 
Doreen of  'My little favourite  DIY'

Comments

  1. Chinese almond tea with "you tiao"...? Hmmm...sounds very interesting... I like "you tiao" so I think I want to try this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, give it a try, but make sure you like the smellof the almonds.

      Delete
  2. Cheah,this almond tea look so yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like this traditional type of almond tea. So good with some 'you tiao'! Thanks for sharing, Cheah :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Cheah, this almond tea paired well with 'you tiao'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I want one large bowl with some you tiao! Mouthwatering!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Cheah,
    This is a comfort breakfast!
    I would like to have a bowl with 'you tiao' too.
    Thanks for sharing this to BRFE.
    mui

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, I certainly learned something new today! Never tried this before and it looks amazingly yum with the 'you tiao'. ^.^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I used to have it at the 'tong sui' stall with my mum and it was soooo cheap, those days, 10 cents for a bowl! Those days are long gone....

      Delete
  8. Hi Soke Hah, this is my most favourite hot dessert. With Yu Char Koay, hahaha! I never say 'No'. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Will definitely try this out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I like it served hot too..... will look forward to your post,Kimmy!

      Delete
  9. I always thought that almonds are just almonds :D had no idea there are different almonds

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, there are different types of almonds, like what I mentioned above, the bitter ones are toxic if eaten raw.

      Delete
  10. Looks delicious, i bet it's good to go in this rainy season
    Dedy@Dentist Chef

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just discovered your blog now. I would like to try making this chinese almond tea. How long does took you to make?
    -raine

    ReplyDelete

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