Tea, one of the three most popular beverages over the world, is well-known for it benefits. First, it helps protect your skin. The polyphenols can decompose the active oxygen within your skin, preventing wrinkles as well as other skin problems. Second, most tea helps improve peristalsis and reduce fat. One thing has to be cleared, tea itself can’t decompose fat, but it can help accelerate fat burning. Thirdly, tea can enhance brain functions and help reduce stress. Fourth, it also helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, because tea polyphenols help reduce blood pressure and sugar levels.
Since you know the amazing affects of teas, you may be ambitious making a “tea schedule” to improve your health. However, few people can actually hold on to the last. Well, drinking tea is not the only method that you can gain beneficial substances by. Applying tea to your diet is helpful too.
If you are lazy and not skillful enough to make some complicated dishes, some simple tea salads are for you. You can choose the Eastern or Western styles according to personal preferences.
Here are some easy home-made tea salad recipes.
Fresh Tea Salad (without meat)
Features:
Spicy, salty and fresh
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh tea leaves, 1 teaspoon hot chili power, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 teaspoon soy sauce, 1-2 pieces of garlic, 1/2 cup fresh bamboo
Directions:
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the hot chili power, salt, soy sauce, and minced garlic.
- Roll the fresh leaves or blanch them in boiling water to remove some bitter taste.
- Mince the bamboo into small pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the bamboo and tea leaves. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Fresh Tea Salad (with meat)
Features: Salty and fresh
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh tea leaves, 2 cups medium firm tofu, 2 teaspoons dried shrimps, 1 teaspoon yellow wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 teaspoon chicken power, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions:
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the salt, chicken power, and sesame oil.
- Wash the fresh leaves and blanch them in boiling water to remove some bitter taste.
- Blanch tofu in boiling water for 1 minute, and cut it into small pieces.
- Wash the dried shrimps and steep them in the yellow wine. Blanch them and mince them into tiny pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the tofu, shrimps and tea leaves. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Tea flavored home salad
Features: Sweet and fresh
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried tea, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon pine nut, 1 carrot, 1 asparagus, 1 pear, 1/3 teaspoon sugar
Directions:
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the sugar and mayonnaise.
- Steep the tea in hot water for 20 minutes and separate the leaves from water.
- Mince the carrot, asparagus and pear.
- In a large bowl, combine the carrot, asparagus, pear, pine nuts and tea leaves. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Tea flavored vegetable salad
Features: Sweet and fresh
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried green tea, 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons corns, 1 carrot, 1 cup small tomatoes, 1 cooked egg, and 1 cup lettuce
Directions:
- Steep the tea in hot water for 20 minutes and separate the leaves from water. Keep the tea water.
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the tea water and mayonnaise.
- Blanch corns in boiling water for 1 minute.
- Mince the carrot, tomatoes, egg and lettuce.
- In a large bowl, combine the carrot, tomatoes, corns, egg and lettuce. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Tea eggs salad
Features: Salty
Ingredients:
1/3 cup dried green tea 2 cooked eggs, 1 tomato, 2 teaspoons ketchup, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/3 teaspoon salt, 4 dried red chilies, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon yellow wine, 1 anise, 1/3 teaspoon peppercorn, 1/3 cinnamon, some lettuce
Directions:
- To prepare the tea eggs, put the soy sauce, tea, salt, red chili, sugar, yellow wine, anise, peppercorn and cinnamon in some water, and cook it with the eggs for 30 minutes.
- Steep the eggs in the sauce overnight.
- Mince the tomato and lettuce. Cut the eggs into small pieces.
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the ketchup and mayonnaise.
- In a large bowl, combine the egg and lettuce. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Tea flavored squid salad
Features: Sweet and fresh
Ingredients:
1 squid, 1 tomato, 1 asparagus, 1 orange, 2 black tea bags, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 4 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley
Directions:
- Mince the tomato, parsley and lettuce.
- Squeeze the orange juice in a bowl.
- To prepare the dressing, mix the juice with mayonnaise.
- Put the black tea bags, cinnamon, soy sauce and sugar in some hot water.
- Cook the squid in the water for 1 minute and soak it there for 5 minutes.
- Cut the squid. In a large bowl, combine the squid and the vegetables. Toss with the dressing and serve.
Baked pear filled with green tea salad
Features: Sweet
Ingredients:
3 pears, 1/2 cup cheese, 1 teaspoon green tea powder, 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup hot water
Directions:
- Dissolve the green tea powder in the hot water.
- To prepare the dressing, mix the water with mayonnaise.
- Cut the pears into halves. Remove the seeds and some pulp.
- Mince the pulp and mix it with the dressing.
- Fill the pear with the dressing.
- Preheat the oven at to 300 degrees.
- Bake the pear for 3 minutes at 300 degrees.
Green tea bamboo salad
Features:
Fresh
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon green tea powder, 1 cup mayonnaise, 3 bamboo, 1 teaspoon peanut powder
Directions:
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the peanut powder and mayonnaise.
- Blanch bamboo in boiling water for 1 minute, and cut it into small pieces.
- Toss with the dressing and serve.