When you think about tea in food, you might think of rose chocolates and lavender cakes, and, you know, that whole matcha thing. But while tea, especially floral varieties, pairs perfectly with sugar, what if it were used more like traditional spices and herbs—not as the star but to add layer and complexity to a savory dish?
“People think of tea in food in a pretty limited way,” says senior food editor Andy Baraghani, who created three refined but totally home-cook-able recipes that use familiar teas in ways you (probably) haven’t thought of before. In each, fat helps carry the flavor, imparting just a hint of the tea’s aroma into each bite.
He started with ochazuke—a Japanese comfort food made with white rice with green tea. “Restaurants will sometimes substitute dashi for the tea,” says Baraghani, “but I went all in.” Cooked rice is formed into balls, patted down, then lightly fried into cakes. Brewed green tea mixed with white soy sauce gets poured over the cakes, then the dish is topped with scallions, pickled ginger, furikake, and dried shitake mushrooms. For the tea, Baraghani suggests using hojicha, genmaicha, or unro, none of which are overwhelmingly grassy.
Next up was this slow-roasted Lapsang salmon with spring vegetables, which has the black tea in the marinade. “Lapsang is a pretty smoky black tea,” says Baraghani, “so it gives you that smoked fish effect, where it hits you upfront and then lingers a bit.” You could use white fish, as well, but salmon’s richness really catches the taste of the tea. The fish marinates in the brewed tea, then goes in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve it with some snap peas, pea shoots, or whatever greens you have on hand, and call it dinner.
And, because we couldn’t resist one classic sweet pairing, Baraghani developed a berries and cream recipe that uses Earl Grey tea in two ways. Earl Grey tends to be subtler than most black teas, so it’s perfect for light, fresh desserts like this one. First, the tea is steeped in a little half and half, which then gets cut with yogurt for the creamy base. Then blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries (mix and match as you like) are macerated with more tea and a dash of sugar and salt. Baraghani also added some rhubarb because, well, it’s rhubarb season and that glorious time doesn’t last for long.