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Epicurious

Cha Yen

In Thailand, this refreshing drink is served at many stands in little plastic bags with straws so you can drink it on the go, but Thai iced tea has soared in popularity at Thai restaurants across America—and for good reason. Thai tea leaves, which can be found at most Asian groceries, combine black tea leaves, star anise, orange flowers, vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon. This blend gives the tea its distinctive taste and orange color, but the technique and style of the drink will work with any good black tea, or you can use black tea with added herbs, in the style of chai (page 668).

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Thai tea leaves or any black tea leaves mixed with any or all of the spices mentioned above
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk or fresh milk to taste
Sugar to taste
Milk to taste

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring 6 cups water to a boil. Put the tea leaves in a heatproof pitcher and pour in the hot water. Allow the tea to steep for about 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Divide the sweetened condensed milk among 4 glasses. Carefully strain the hot tea into the glasses and stir well, adding sugar and milk to taste. Add ice cubes to chill and serve

  2. Hot Thai Tea

    Step 3

    Omit the ice and substitute teacups for the glasses.

  3. Cha Dum Yen

    Step 4

    Thai Tea without Milk. Omit the sweetened condensed milk and milk.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
TagsCold DrinkBeveragesBlack TeaTeaThaiSoutheast AsianAsian5 Ingredients or FewerCookbooks
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