Stir-Fried Shrimp with Longjing Tea

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Longjing Tea

(serves 2 people)

Longjing Tea, also known as Dragon Well Tea, is a famous high quality Chinese green tea. Dragon Well Shrimp is authentically made with fresh river shrimp and newly harvested Longjing tea to appreciate its fragrance and color.

Ingredients:
1lb. large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 tsp. Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
1 egg white
Salt to taste
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Sauce
2 tsp. Longjing tea or green tea leaves
1 cup hot water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch

 Method:

Brew Longjing tea with hot water and strain leaves. Reserve 1/3 cup of the brewed tea and the strained leaves and let cool.
In a bowl, combine the shrimp, Shaoxing wine, egg white, sesame oil, salt and cornstarch. Marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Add vegetable oil when the pan is hot. Saute marinated shrimp for about one minute on each side.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl, then add to the pan with the shrimp, mix well and cook for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the shrimp are cooked through.

Mix in strained tea leaves to the griddle, then serve while hot.

Herbal Tea

So…what is a herbal tea? Well…let us start out with what a herbal tea is NOT!

A herbal tea is NOT, repeat NOT, tea. So then why are herbal teas called a “tea.” Good question…but one that probably goes back to some tradition or another that says anything added to hot water becomes a “tea.”

But in any event…yes, a herbal tea is NOT a true tea. Technically speaking, in order for something to be considered a true “tea,” the plant that is used must come from the tea plant, camellia sinensis.

To put it simply…a tea is “only a true tea” if it actually contains tea plant leaves. And thus…this is why oolong, white, green and black are considered “true teas,” as their leaves come from the actual tea plant camellia sinensis. By contrast, rooibos and herbal teas do NOT contain leaves from the tea plant.

Confused? Read What Tea Is and What Tea is Not for more information.

Thus, with this out of the way, we can basically define a herbal tea as just about anything that gets added to boiling water. And by anything…I do mean ANYTHING. From lemons, to orange peel, to whole strawberries, to peppermint leaves, to candy cane pieces…and well, you get the idea.

What Tea Is and What Tea is Not?

I suspect if you asked the average tea drinker what tea is, they would not have the first clue. At best, they may point to their tea cup and say “this.” So, before you dive further into the world of tea, whether you are seeking its health benefits, or just way to try some new tastes, it can be helpful to actually learn what tea really is.

Officially, to be considered a tea, a “tea” must come from the plant camellia sinensis. This is the plant from which all “real teas” originate from. The following types of teas originate from this plant, and are thus considered “real teas.”

• Green Tea
• Black Tea
• White Tea
• Oolong Tea

As you can see, nowhere is herbal tea found in the list. Nor is rooibos tea. The reason for this is because herbal teas usually contain anything (and I do meananything) but actual tea leaves! And rooibos tea leaves come from a completely different plant (aspalathus linearis) found generally in South Africa.

Because of this, herbal teas aren’t actually considered “teas”, even though they are labeled as such. Ditto for rooibos teas. With this in mind, it is important to realize that if you are drinking tea for its health benefits – mainly for its antioxidants – you will not be getting any when drinking a herbal tea or a rooibos tea (unless they have been added in). Instead, the antioxidants come from the tea plant camellia sinensis, which is used to create the other types of teas (black, green, white and oolong).

Yet, don’t despair. Herbal teas, while they may lack antioxidants, have massive health benefits all their own. So many benefits, in fact, several books have been written about them. Likewise, research is beginning to show that rooibos teas have unique health benefits all their own as well, too.

Overall, most people in the United States tend to consider any leaves that get added to water as “tea.” While technically speaking this is not correct, because all herbal brews are indeed labeled as “teas”, and because I myself live in the United States, for purposes of this site, tea is considered “anything that has leaves added to water.”

Just always remember that herbal teas and rooibos teas are NOT considered real teas as they do not come from an actual tea plant!