6 hours ago, Beebs said:Catching up now - what an exciting trip!
I'd like to know more about the oil tea and how it's made. Is there any actual tea in there, or just oil? Is the mouthfeel greasy at all?
Camellia tree seeds are pressed to make tea seed oil, which is used both as a cooking oil and as the basis for the oil tea. This oil is used to fry regular tea leaves, green or black according to preference. I find black tea is the more common. The fried tea leaves are then used to make tea in the usual manner, by adding hot water and leaving it to steep. Green onions, garlic and salt are usually added. Sometimes, pork offal is cooked in the tea, then discarded.
Cooked glutinous rice is dried in the sun then fried in the same tea seed oil which causes it to puff up in a similar manner to popcorn. Peanuts and soybeans are also stir-fried. It is then served as shown above.
It is not at all greasy in the mouth.
