[New post] Exploring my roots (and other vegetables) and Hakka Lei Cha
chayohome2020 posted: " By Valerie Hollen Learning to make traditional Hakka dishes was one of my goals for this year. Coming from an Indonesian Chinese family, I sometimes felt that I was never really in touch with my roots. Not Indonesian enough, but also not Chinese enoug" HomeBlog by HomSkil
Learning to make traditional Hakka dishes was one of my goals for this year. Coming from an Indonesian Chinese family, I sometimes felt that I was never really in touch with my roots. Not Indonesian enough, but also not Chinese enough, and also not Singaporean enough. My parents don't speak Chinese and we only observe a handful of traditions, and most of the finer nuances like cuisine and language have mostly been lost to time. That's more a by-product of the political and cultural environment in Indonesia regarding ethnic Chinese though, and not my parents' fault.
For a historical context, here's some suggested reading:
My dad recently retired, and learning to cook Hakka dishes has been a great bonding activity for us. It gives my dad a sense of purpose and something to do, and brings back fond memories of happier times in his childhood. It's also giving him a chance to pass down recipes from my grandparents, who passed away before I was born.
Lei cha (擂茶) is a labour of love. The ingredients are humble, but the dish itself is greater than the sum of its parts. Interestingly, I find that food transcends geographical boundaries - the technique for making the tea paste is really similar to making Italian pesto alla Genovese. Pesto uses Italian basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmigiano-reggiano; the lei cha tea paste uses Thai basil (and many other herbs), peanuts and sesame seeds, garlic, and tea leaves. There's a lot more overlap between Italian and Chinese cuisine than I initially thought!
I used three types of green tea: sencha leaves, genmaicha leaves and matcha powder - but that's really not necessary. Oolong tea or Chinese green tea are traditionally used. I also had to hunt down dried mugwort leaves from a traditional Chinese medicine hall, since fresh leaves are almost impossible to find here.
Other than that, lei cha can be made with whatever vegetables you have on hand. Cabbage, Choy sum, daun katuk (known as sayur manis or ma ni cai in Singapore). Tofu and tempeh are good sources of protein, along with some extra nuts, dried shrimp and anchovies for texture. The vegetarian nature of this dish also makes lei cha a good option for meatless Fridays.
I think it's important to preserve traditions and culture where possible, because those also make up who I am. What's a traditional dish your family makes? My dad has decided on another project: Hakka abacus seeds. Let's see how that goes soon.
Posted by Chayo, HomSkil Editor 1, 9 November 2023
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