Green Tea as a Diet

Green tea is the most consumed tea in China and is often a substitute for water during meal times to contribute for health or choice. It is also a form of traditional Chinese medicine and has been for the last 4,000 years. Green tea treats headaches and also boosts the immune system whilst aiding all kinds of viruses. It is also used to lose weight because it regulates the blood sugar levels by reducing the amount of insulin in the body and the extract also increases the energy level which increases the metabolism of body fat. Green tea can be served with each meal as it suppresses your appetite and speed up your metabolic rate. Drinking green also helps in the prevention of cancer, tooth decay, high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. 

Green Tea Shortbread - A fusion with western culture

Green tea is a traditional Chinese tea, and has become a popular ingredient in western cooking as well.  The recipe I have for you today is Green Tea Shortbread.  While shortbread is traditionally Scottish, in recent decades green tea-flavored shortbread cookies have become pretty widespread around Japan, sold in bakeries and pastry shops alongside green tea cakes and mousses.  And it's quite an addictive little snack.

Green Tea Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients (Makes about 3 dozen)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons matcha powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Special equipment – round cookie cutter about 2 inches in diameter, or another cookie cutter about the same size.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the confectioners’ sugar and granulated sugar. Add the vanilla extract (if using instead of vanilla bean).
3. If you’re using a vanilla bean instead, slit bean down the middle with a pairing knife and scrape out the black seeds from both sides of the middle. Discard the outer shell or save for another use.
4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, matcha powder, vanilla bean seeds (if using instead of vanilla extract), and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar butter mixture from step 2. Mix until a smooth dough forms.
5. Flour a clean working surface and a rolling pin. Roll out the dough until it is between 1/4″ to 1/3″ thick. Use a 2” wide round cookie cutter to cut out circles. (You may need to reroll the dough once or twice more to use up the remainder.) Place the circles on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the black sesame seeds on top of each cookie.
6. Bake until the bottoms are just lightly golden, about 8 to 10 minutes, checking at the 8 minute mark. (Be careful not to overbake.) Transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.

You will end up with about 3 dozen small cookies for breakfast, afternoon tea, or dessert. They'll keep in an air-tight container for up to 4 or 5 days, but believe me, these cookies go very very quickly...

Green Tea as an ice-cream

Green tea ice cream is a Japanese style dessert and is the most common choice of “beverage” for many Japanese people. It is a very common dessert in many parts of Asian and has crossed to the Western culture, including United States. The dessert comprises of the health benefits of green tea with the sweetened and mouth-watering taste and texture of an ice cream. The dessert is made with “Matcha Green Tea”, a fine powder and can also be used to flavour or dye food and is regarded as a high quality green tea. Green tea ice cream can be served with just about anything, from exotic to tropical fruit, wafers and nuts, chocolate, whip cream or just simply eaten by itself.

Ochazuke - Green Tea Rice Recipe

Ochazuke is rice in green tea with some salty toppings or pickled vegetables.  It is a very simple recipe that involves hardly any cooking.  Ochazuke is a “you make it at the table” kind of thing, so you probably won’t find it on the menu at restaurants.  Traditionally, if you tell your friends that you ate Ochazuke for lunch, you’re basically saying you didn’t have anything on hand to eat or didn’t want to cook.  Oops!

Ochazuke Recipe

Ingredients:
Japanese rice crackers
hot green tea
Steamed Rice
Salmon Flakes
thinly cut roasted seaweed
sesame seeds
wasabi
soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Put rice crackers in a plastic bag and smash them to coarse pieces. Prepare hot green tea.
2. Put rice in a rice bowl, top with cracker pieces, salmon flakes, seaweed, sesame seeds, and wasabi. Pour hot green tea over rice. Add a little soy sauce if you want.
3. Tada! There you have it!

This is a very simple dish to make at home and particularly good when you don’t have much appetite or sick.  There is nothing hard to digest in the ingredients.  It can be great to eat after holidays, parties, and obviously when you're sick.  Let your tummy have a rest, and have some mild, tasty and simple Ochazuke!