INTRODUCTION

This is a niche recipe and those who have ever seen or eaten this drink before can try the recipe as it can hardly find in the stores already. Those who have never seen or heard about the tea are free to suspect the recipe.. This is not my invention and it was requested by one of the Facebook male members who have not been drinking this tea for about 50 years。 He said it is one of the desserts being sold together with lek tau suan  in Batu Pahat, Johor when he is a kid..

When he said this, I remembered that one of my ex-colleagues mentioned about this. I remembered she said that she used to drink this “tea” during her confinement period and when she said this, i opened my mouth widely as i have never heard of such a combination. Fried the wheat flour and become tea. Since then, it is always in my mind..

Since reader is requesting, i promised him to search for a recipe and I found that this is a very common drink during the olden days especially in Taiwan and also Beijing area. In fact, it is one of the speciality tea for Beijing desserts. Though the name is tea, it is nothing to do with tea leaves. It has the texture or consistency of cereal drinks such as oat drinks which is sticky and sweet. While in Beijing, they have used couscous powder, yet in Taiwan or other places, they used the normal wheat flour. Apparently, they have much more type of flavour as what is drank here. They have added nuts and sesame seeds, red jujube  etc..

If you think that flour is tasteless, I concurred provided it is raw.. It has no aroma but flour when fried emit a unique aroma which is very different. Fried flour is nothing unusual in western cuisines, in fact, roux is the name of fried flour adding the water. In my recipe (KFC Copycat Mashed Potatoes Recipe (KFC 马铃薯泥山寨食谱)), the thick gravy  is using exactly the same method of frying flour until aromatic for both the flavour and colour tone. It is this unique roux that create a special aroma of the mashed potatoes gravies.

As I have never eaten the one that was sold, I do not exactly sure about the colour tone of the flour tea. The colour tone will depend on how well you fried the flour. As you stir fry the flour, the colour will darken gradually . As long as it is not burnt, it is acceptable. Hence, some of the pictures in the internet seems to have a much darker shade of brown. Besides the possibility of frying the flour longer, another possibility is that other flour such as walnut flour may have been added .

This is a flexible recipe and with only one compulsory ingredients: Wheat flour. After the flour is fried, all the others addition is based on your personal preference, based on what you have tasted before.  You can add anything such as sesame seed flour, walnut, use milk instead of sugar, add cocoa powder, sugar to your liking , use condensed milk instead of sugar etc. etc. etc.

I am so surprised that I liked these tea. The reason is very simple, since i like Nestum baby cereal drink that is thick and creamy, I found that this is such a good alternative . In fact, it is aromatic flavoured by deep fried shallots. I have added some nuts to enhance the texture because I am a nut lover. Mind you, this is a very filling drink. As a meal replacement, one bowl of this drink will make you full until next meal..

WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 500 grams of plain flour or all purpose flour
• 100 grams of deep fried shallots

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Dry fry the flour under low to medium heat  in a pan until golden brown and aromatic. When you fry the flour initially, it will more difficult to stir fry as it is wet. As it goes along, it become lighter,  drier and very easy to fry. CONSTANT STIRRING IS NECESSARY  as the flour can get burnt rather easily. Once fried to your desired colour tone (golden brown to dark brown), off the heat.

• Pound the deep fried shallots until as fine as possible. If you need deep fried shallot recipe, you can refer to this post : Crispy Deep Fried Shallots, Shallots Garlic Oil and Minced Garlic Shallots (油葱酥， 葱蒜香油，葱蒜蓉）. You can always plus the minus the suggested quantities based on your preference. Alternatively, you can add deep fried shallots when you prepare the drink .

• Add the pounded deep fried shallots to the fried flour, stir until well mixed  and once cooled completely, put in an air tight container at room temperature.

• To prepare the drink, put 1-2 tablespoons (depend on the consistency you like) of fried flour onto a bowl or cup, add some sugar and use hot water to steep the flour as if you are preparing some cereal. Stir until smooth before serving. To add varieties, you can add crushed nuts or use hot milk instead of water.  Can be served as a meal replacement such as breakfast or dessert in between meals.

CONCLUSION

Once again, i blogged this as a respect to and a capture of Traditional recipe. For those who have eaten before, you may want to prepare this for your family members. For those who have never try, give it a try and you will understand why I liked it.. Remember that if you do not like deep fried shallot, just omit it as it will be equally delicious.

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