Green bowl of quiet thunder

The Star

03-05-2025

IN a world of fast food and loud flavours, there is a bowl that whispers.
Thunder tea rice – lei cha fan – is not named for its noise but for the quiet stir of something ancient.
Its green hum begins with herbs and ends with nourishment.
Just before eating, stir boiling water into the tea paste to form a light soup that can be poured over the rice or sipped alongside as a broth. — Photos: ARIQ HIDAYAT/The Star
It is a dish of the Hakka people, who carried seeds and stories far and wide from Hepo Village in China and turned what grew wild and stubborn, into comfort, into sustenance, into home.
The nutty-flavoured brown rice is washed clean under cold water until the cloudy rinse runs clear, then steamed and dressed in an array of green vegetables.
Dark and iron-rich kailan, crisp and clipped French beans, cabbage like ruffled paper, preserved radish – sharp, salty, assertive, golden and firm tofu and roasted peanuts looking like tiny drums.
Each topping is cooked alone, so it may sing its own quiet song.
And at the heart of it all, the tea paste. A potion of basil, mint and coriander – leaves that once reached for the sun now blanched and stilled in ice, then spun with sesame and peanut into a paste the colour of wet moss. Bitter, nutty and fragrant – a paste that is more memory than the meal.
Fresh basil, mint and coriander, together with roasted peanuts and sesame seeds, form the basis for the tea paste, while the other ingredients play a supportive role to make it a complete meal.
Just before eating, pour boiling water on the green paste in a bowl, and the steam that rises smells of gardens, of something both familiar and unnamed.
You may pour the soupy mix over the rice, letting it flood the plate or sip it on the side.
'Thunder tea rice' does not shout. It nourishes.
It teaches you how to eat slowly again, how to find warmth in bitterness, and how sometimes, the quietest dish is the one that leaves you full the longest.
Thunder tea rice
Ingredients
3 cups brown rice or 10-grain rice
3 cups cold water
Tea paste
150g Thai basil leaves and shoots
75g mint leaves
50g fresh coriander
50g roasted peanuts
40g roasted white sesame seeds
1 tsp salt to taste
Toppings
200g kailan, chopped
200g French beans, diced
200g cabbage, sliced
200g salted preserved radish
200g roasted peanuts
200g extra firm tofu
¼ cup cooking oil
¾ tsp salt for seasoning
Directions
Rinse the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear.
Combine with three cups of cold water in a rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Once cooked, allow to rest for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Blanch the basil, mint and coriander for 30 seconds until wilted.
Immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water to preserve their vibrant colour.
Drain well, then puree in an electric power blender with the peanuts, sesame seeds, and salt until smooth, adding a little warm water if needed to help it come together. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the tofu until lightly golden on all sides.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Once cool, dice into small cubes.
Reserve the oil to stir-fry the vegetables.
Soak preserved radish in cold water for about 30 minutes to remove excess salt, then drain and set aside.
Stir-fry the kailan, French beans, cabbage and preserved radish separately in a hot pan, using a bit of the reserved oil.
Season each batch with a pinch of salt to taste.
Cook briefly to retain some crunch and vibrant colour, then set aside.
To serve, place one cup of cooked rice into a bowl and invert into a soup plate.
Neatly arrange the toppings around the rice, allowing each to shine in its own segment.
Serve the tea paste in a separate bowl.
Just before eating, stir boiling water into the tea paste to form a light, soupy consistency – adding as much or as little as you like.
Pour it over the rice and toppings, or sip alongside as a broth.