Green Tea Rice

smellyvegetarian's Note:

This is from the July/August 2009 Vegetarian Times. They recommend serving with low-sodium soy sauce and chili oil. Posted for safekeeping.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 green tea bags
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables, frozen
• 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Place tea bags in a 4 c measuring cup and cover with 3 c water. Steep 7-10 minutes and discard the tea bags.
2. Combine rice, garlic, ginger, and tea in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Add frozen vegetables and cover pan again. Cook 5-10 minutes more, or until tea is absorbed and vegetables are hot and crisp-tender. Stir in green onions and sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper.

Reviews

[Prose]

Wow! I love cooking with tea, and this is a lovely way to do so. The tea gives this dish a lot of flavor without using a sugary/fatty/salty sauce like a lot of stir-fry-type dishes. I only had about 3/4 cup of basmati rice, so I added 1/4 cup Bhutanese red rice, which has the same cooking time. I am looking forward to trying this with brown basmati rice (I would adjust the amounts and cooking time). I doubled the garlic and ginger and used a whole bag of frozen stir-fry veggies. Alas, I did not have any sesame seeds on hand. I did add 1/2 pound sauteed tofu for protein and served with low-sodium soy sauce, as suggested. I will definitely make this again and again.

[Maito]

Good rice! I sauteed half an onion and a cup of fresh carrots for the veggies. The green tea is very mild in it. We liked this with the optional soy and chili sauce. I could see lime and cashews working well as additions too.

[CaliforniaJan]

This was good rice but not great rice. I think I'll make it again to see what I can do to improve my results. I like the idea of using tea in a rice dish, but on my first try it was pretty bland. Thanks for posting, made for ZWT.