Teh Tarik

I have a love hate relationship with tea.

I didn’t used to. It was all love back in those days. No hate. I could drink all the tea and still blissfully fall asleep. I don’t think a day went by without a cup of tea.

And then, there was Mr. V.

Tea gives him insomnia. YUP. We’re not even talking about coffee here. TEA!

I basically went cold turkey with tea after getting married because Mr.V…. well, we all know his story with tea. You know how they say married couples become more and more like each other. I was suppose to inherit his good looks. I didn’t. I now have tea induced insomnia.

But teh tarik…. is not just any tea (teh = tea in Malay). This is tea steeped perfectly, mixed with sweetened condensed milk and then put through an elongated pouring process called ‘pulling’ or ‘tarik’ in Malay which will produce a creamy, smooth beverage with a thick frothy top. This is tea like no other in the world.

So I ask you…. what would you choose? Smooth, creamy, luscious tea or insomnia? I think we know the answer to that.

Also, if you haven’t already, check out my last post Wonton Noodles.  A delicious, flavored with garlic & shallot oil noodles. Served with smoky Chinese BBQ Pork (char siu) & Pickled Green Chilies.

What love hate relationships do you have?

Teh Tarik                     Serves 2

what you need:

4 black tea bags
3 cups water, boiling hot
4 tbs sweetened condensed milk (or replace half with evaporated milk)
Sugar (optional, only if you’re crazy for sugar like Mr. V.)

directions:

1. Steep the tea bags covered in the hot water for 5-8 minutes.

2. Mix in the milk and sugar.

3. Prepare two containers, preferably with curved lips to ease pouring with minimal dripping. With a steady stream, pour the tea from one container to the other back and forth. Carefully increase the height as you pour. The higher the stream, the frothier it’ll become. Be careful not to scald yourself. Tea will splatter. Repeat 4-6 times.

Notes:

1. Pulling the tea does two things. One, it allows the condensed milk to combine with the tea really well which gives a creamier and smoother end result. Two, it cools the tea down to a still hot but drinkable state.

2. You can choose to replace 2 tablespoons of condensed milk with 2 tablespoons evaporate milk if you prefer it less sweet.

3. To make evaporated milk from regular milk, boil 1 1/4 milk until you get 1/2 cup of milk. That is evaporated milk.

4. The longer you steep, the more bitter the tea will become. Better to steep a lesser time and then add the tea bags later if you want it stronger.

5. Traditionally, teh tarik is made using tea dust but I find using regular tea bags just as delicious.

6. If the tea is not hot after you mix in the milk, no fret, just reheat the tea and then do step 3.

P.S. Good news guys. I vaguely remember a wise old doctor once told me to slowly reintroduce anything back to my blood streams so that my body can grow accustom to it. He was talking about tea or coffee. I wonder if this applies to spam?

Who wants to watch Mr. V ‘pulling’ tea?