Although it comes from centuriesold tradition, hakka tea is not a specific recipe, and. It is brought by hakka people to taiwan, indonesia, malaysia, and any. Taiwan hakka lei cha is the newest type of lei cha on this list, served like a dessert alongside snacks like hakka mochi, biscuits, fried tofu and candied fruit, and then topped with puffed rice for a crunchy mouthfeel. This book likens hakka cooking to a nomadic type of soul food, or a hearty cooking tradition that responds to a shared history of hardship and oppression. Imagine my disappointment, then, when i read this, um, questionable editorial in the news lens about letting hakka go. Jul 09, 2016 boon lay traditional hakka lui cha shares secrets with and duration. Find 140 recipes, including hakka classics such as stuffed tofu, lei cha, and saltbaked chicken as well as easy chinese comfort food.
Its how the kuching ho poh hakka people called this dish. In 1920 there was 1 hakka family living in michigan. You see we used to live next door to a ho poh hakka family. My recipe for the popular hakka pounded tea lei cha or lui cha was published on world recipes for the expo milano 2015 website. Vivienne poy welcome for speakers, registrants read more. It is believed that lei cha was derived from a soup called the threerawingredients soup consisting of. With 26 years of ipoh residence under his belt, he is the definitive source of information on the history of the town, and of the hakka community in particular. Chinese soul food from around the world linda lau anusasananan, alan chong lau, martin yan on. Every hakka i know points to it as an invention for tourists. Madam angel liew grew up in a traditional hakka family that believes in serving lei cha as a sign of love and abundance. Concerning the origin and history of the hakka people, there has been much controversy and misunderstanding. The hakka family name was found in the usa in 1920. Bits and pieces of information that i can find on web, i can usually find it summarized and organized here. Meinong ichan meinong district, taiwan atlas obscura.
Posted in books, hakka food, hakka historyidentity, recipes, uncategorized. Firstly one explaining and sharing much of the hakka guest people cuisine from china and secondly for being inspired by cuisine from hakka families around the world, sharing cultural infusion and styles along the way. Healthy and flavorful thunder tea rice farinas asian pantry. Leicha or thunder tearice is a traditional hakka dish that. Lei cha, also known as pounded, ground, or thunder tea, is a specialty of the hakka. Its history dates back to almost two thousand years, where it was.
Hakka lei cha from the garden the straits times youtube. The ingredients were tasty but if the taste of the soup can be a bit stronger will be better they only give the concentrated soup in a small container and have to add hot water to it and this will dilute the content of the soup. You can see how hakka families moved over time by selecting different census years. I must say, hers is the best that i have tasted so far. Dont let the hakka lei cha tea grinding fool you, this is the highlight of the class, you will learn about something really special here, and will go back home with the most unique and nutritious meal recipe. Lei cha is a soup that can be found in southern china, taiwan, malaysia and singapore, as well as where there might be hakka people or influences. Jul 23, 2014 a traditional hakka signature dish, lei cha promotes good health and improves vitality. Chp150the hakkas in this milestone 150th chp episode laszlo shines a light on the hakka people and where they fit in chinese history.
The beginner cook will find sections on cooking techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Lui cha fon, lei cha fanwhatever, but ill stick to my guns. Lei cha, my recipe for a centuries old chinese dish. It is very prevalent among hakka people in hakka regions of taiwan. Despite its striking name, the dish is essentially a bowl of rice filled with a medley of chopped greens and served with a fragrant side of soup made from ground tea. Located along lorong 6 toa payoh and just a few minutes away from toa payoh mrt station, thunder tea rice is a simple restaurant that serves healthy and affordable hakka cuisine. Lei cha lui cha chinese pestothunder teapestle tea. While there is a standard method of cooking lei cha, different hakka families may use different ingredients based on availability. In season 1, episode 10 we see the hakka in chaoshan introduced lei cha aka lui cha. According to the seventh day commemorates nu wa, the ancient goddess who is believed to have created mankind from yellow clay. Thunder rice tea lei cha is a centuries old chinese hakka dish that was invented as a meal of survival and sustenance during time of war during the qin dynasty in 221 207ad. They interviewed a hakka woman who told them how to make lui cha. The following morning we went downstairs and ate our first traditional hakka meal, which included lei cha, a renowned hot drink made from green tea leaves, mint, mung beans, peanuts and sesame and served with rice and greens. I am a hakka and i am very lucky that my grandma cook lei cha at least once every month.
I ve only eaten lei cha in malaysia, singapore, and taiwan. Hakka cuisine, is the cooking style of the hakka people, who may also be found in other parts. Originally, the hakka were north chinese, but they migrated to south china especially guangdong, fujian, jiangxi, and guangxi provinces during the fall of the nan southern song dynasty in the 1270s. Hakka cuisine, is the cooking style of the hakka people, who may also be found in other parts of taiwan and in countries with significant overseas hakka communities. As part of the careful preservation of their language, when a nonhakka woman marries into a hakka family she is required to learn the hakka language. Leicha or thunder tearice is a traditional hakka dish that consists of an assortment of vegetables placed over a bed of rice, topped off with a fragrant mixture of tea leaves and other earthly herbs like coriander, garlic, mint and basil.
The old street has a few hakka teahouses to choose from such as hakka leicha and shuijing teahouse the well. Jan 01, 2012 this is an interesting book on many levels. Hakka historyidentity archives the hakka cookbookthe. History and cultural significance of lei cha description of lei cha and its. Dec 20, 2017 in this school holiday project, we learnt from ms angie lim of big big bowl hakka kitchen how hakka lui cha is prepared. Lei cha is not the same as taiwanese tea because there are always other ingredients.
Check out the top traditional hakka lei cha restaurants. Oct 27, 2017 lei cha, or thunder tea rice, is a traditional dish among the hor poh clan of the hakka people, an ethnic subgroup of the han chinese known for their nomadic existence. Its hard to imagine that the hakka, a chinese dialect group known for their seductive ways with fatty cuts of pork, invented lui cha fun. May 18, 2019 impression of wandering the landscape and imagery of hakka lei cha a paper on lei cha, though in mandarin. Lei cha lui chachinese pestothunder teapestle tea food.
Oct 22, 20 leicha or thunder tearice is a traditional hakka dish that consists of an assortment of vegetables placed over a bed of rice, topped off with a fragrant mixture of tea leaves and other earthly herbs like coriander, garlic, mint and basil. In the past, many hakka mothers killed their female babies. Outside the hakka miners club with retired commander ian anderson back row. Thunder tea rice is all about herbs, vegetables and tofu.
This was about 50% of all the recorded hakkas in the usa. So, the lei cha custom in china has two different kinds. Want to experience the amazing benefits of hakka lei cha. Its lui cha fon for me as it was the word i first heard eons ago. Have you ever tasted lui cha hakka or lei cha mandarin, also called pounded tea or thunder tea. Now, she continues her familys tradition by making lei cha with herbs. A love for traditional hakka lei cha the star online. Meinong ichan hakkastyle teahouse where everybody grinds their own tea. History of tea in china wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Lei cha a hakka recipe and tradition of my family the. The restaurant uses a formula with 20 years of history to order to provide one of the bests, if not the best, hakka lei cha in town.
Boon lay traditional hakka lui cha shares secrets with and duration. Recipes archives the hakka cookbookthe hakka cookbook. Lei tea is a traditional hakka drink made by grinding pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sesame, tea leaves, and other ingredients into a powder and then adding hot water. Among their progeny they claim the likes of sun yat sen, deng xiaoping, singapores lee kwan yew and taiwans lee teng hui. Traditional hakka lui cha jurong west, thunder tea rice lau pa sat festival market, hakka thunder tea and more. Like tingzhou, meizhou became an essential hub in hakka migration history, and is still known as the hometown for. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, guess ill just book mark this site. A traditional hakka signature dish, lei cha promotes good health and improves vitality. There are no shortages of authoritative sources that all disagree as to their origins ands when the hakkas migrated from where to where. The genealogy records roots the hakka history in concrete places, through specific time periods. The encyclopedia of missions is bold enough to state that the hakkas are a peculiar race or tribe.
On this day, chinese people eat healthy foods with auspicious meanings. Earthy, honest, and robust, it reflects the diversity of the estimated 75 million hakka living in china and greater asia, and in scattered communities around the world. The hakka lei cha here has a strong cilantro flavor and 5 kinds of rich ingredients that make it really superb in taste. Lui cha fon, lei cha fan whatever, but ill stick to my guns. This is why we created our delicious asian food service range. Its how the kuching ho poh hakka people called this dish total recall. The lei cha itself is made using tea leaves, sesame seeds and nuts. Someone had bought an instant mix for hakka pestle cereal in an asian supermarket and wondered what it was. Perhaps eryk smith is a member of the tribe by marriage sure, fine although i did wonder why, then, hed reference lei cha as something hakka. Program ver12 5th toronto hakka conference july, 2016 york university patron the honourable dr.
Lei cha, or thunder tea rice, is a traditional dish among the hor poh clan of the hakka people, an ethnic subgroup of the han chinese known for their nomadic existence. Lei cha literally translates to pounded or crushed tea. The encyclopedia of missions is bold enough to state that the hakkas are a peculiar race or tribe, inhabiting the mountains near guangzhou or shantou, who are of a lower social rank than the native chinese. Countless protohakka followed the royal song household even further south, in the direction of eastern and northern guangdong province. As part of the careful preservation of their language, when a non hakka woman marries into a hakka family she is required to learn the hakka language.
Hakka lei cha thunder tea rice recipe spring tomorrow. In this school holiday project, we learnt from ms angie lim of big big bowl hakka kitchen how hakka lui cha is prepared. Lei cha, or thunder tea rice, is a traditional dish among the hor poh clan of the hakka people, an ethnic subgroup of the han chinese. The earthen fortresses of the hakka gonomad travel. The area of meizhou became a key place attracting new hakka arrivals.
The original recipe is from the hakka cookbook on page 99. Jul 19, 2015 lui cha fon, lei cha fan whatever, but ill stick to my guns. A bowl of lei cha or thunder tea rice is the culmination of a long and rich hakka tradition as well as hours spent slogging in the kitchen. It is a tedious job to prepare the cuisine which is healthy. It is brought by hakka people to taiwan, indonesia, malaysia, and any locales with a substantial hakka diaspora. Recently there was a post on a facebook group site about this hakka specialty. The patriarch and matriarch, mr and mrs c had 14 children. But why, despite such well known figures, is their history and culture so poorly. Chp150the history of the hakka people recorded history. For those who are new to this dish, lei cha simply means pounded tea but its also called thunder tea rice because traditionally, the ingredients were pounded manually to make the tea soup and the sound of that action actually resembled thunder. Lei cha or ground tea is a traditional southern chinese teabased beverage or gruel. Most grind sesame seeds, peanuts, and fresh green herbs such as mint, fennel, and dried tea leaves with a mortar and pestle to make a paste. Legends and stereotypes surrounded this subgroup of chinese. Its my mom searching for her hakka history through the food of her popo, grandmother.
For the hakka, that dish might be lui cha aka lei cha, thunder tea. Lui cha brown rice, nuts, tofu, and lots of vegetable. The locals embraced it and some created their own versions. The drink is a musttry when visiting a hakka settlement. While i am not an expert who can cook this dish, but i can safely describe this dish as healthy yet delicious, full of nutrients and vitamin in a single bowl. Besides hakka lei cha, lei cha is also very traditional among hunanese people in northern part of hunan province of mainland china. The tea is drunk for breakfast or on cold winters as a tasty and healthy restorative. The food was so delicious, and im going home with new exciting recipes, cooking methods and inspiration to prepare taiwanese food at home. There are vignettes of my greatgrandmother coming through angel island. Michigan and 1 other state had the highest population of hakka families in 1920. My grandma grindspounds the cha with this traditional wooden pot and stick whereas the vendors usually use the blender for their cha. Another version is savory, more about that in another post.
Lei cha a hakka recipe and tradition of my family the lion raw. The greenish soup, as explained in wiki as, lei cha literally pounded tea is a hakka teabased beverage or gruel consisting of a mix of tea leaves that are ground or pounded together with various roasted nuts, seeds, and grains, definitely would not be just anyones cup of tea, j had a long time before he got use to eat, and. Lei cha is an authentic hakka dish, rarely found in food centres or restaurants. Now you can enjoy yum cha at home with hakkas authentic yum cha range, offering delicious and easy to prepare dim sum products, from the traditional prawn gow gee and vegetable dim sim to our selection of buns that truly touches the heart. In addition to offering travel information, the hakka pavilion also had hakka tea lei cha making activity and virtual reality technology for costumers to explore hakka food culture and experience strolling along historic trails, promoting the tour of hakka villages in more creative ways. Aug 04, 2015 clan books provide a tangible record of the links of an individual to past ancestors, and this then provides a connection to their contemporaries with whom they share the same surname and blood in their veins.
The hakka have been called guests, gypsies, nomads, barbarians, outsiders, even mongolians. Clan books provide a tangible record of the links of an individual to past ancestors, and this then provides a connection to their contemporaries with whom they share the same surname and blood in their veins. Lei chas origin is deeply intertwined with the hakkas people history and southern migration. Sep 24, 2009 lui cha brown rice, nuts, tofu, and lots of vegetable. Lei cha is very popular in taiwan, southern china, malaysia as well as any locations with a large.
When the savage mongol hordes swept across china in the thirteenth century, many hakka fled to the south to escape the carnage. The custom of lei cha began in the three kingdoms period or even han dynasty. Lui cha literally means pounded tea in cantonese, which described the way the way the soup is made by pounding mixture of tea leaves and possibly mints to a very minty green tea like liquid. There are numerous restaurants in taiwan, hong kong, indonesia, malaysia, singapore and thailand serving hakka cuisine. Oct 14, 2019 various traditional hakka foods and drinks can be enjoyed here, such as the traditional hakka lei tea sold by ajhu lei cha. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.