FORAGING FRIDAY: THAI ICED TEA
With all the flavors and tastes New York's diverse restaurants, neighborhoods and stores have to offer there are endless opportunities for exploration and culinary adventures. This new feature, Foraging Friday, will document these adventures and explorations.
Across the street and down the block from the French Culinary Institute is a Thai restaurant which we've been occasionally visiting since the beginning of Level 1 during dinner break to procure Thai Iced Tea. It's a deep, reddish, smokey, tea that's mixed with half-n-half and sweetened, condensed milk to create a sweet and creamy treat-- low-fat of course. Towards the end of Level 1 during our ice-cream class, a friend from class bought some during dinner and gave me the idea to use it in a dessert. But before experimenting, I need the ingredients, the tea.
I went to the Thai restaurant near school, bought some tea (above, left) asked what it was called and where I might find it and was directed to the convenience store at the end of the block. The women there told me they were out of it but showed me the canned version.
I headed into China town and after a little while, walked by a place on a side-street called Tongin Mart Inc. It was a wealth of treasures: seaweed of all sorts, noodles, powders, sauces, dried mushrooms, bean pastes, and countless other things to wander slowly through the aisles investigating, including at least four shelves devoted to teas.
A saleswoman directed me to the tea on a bottom shelf. The bag described the contents as being a product of Thailand, San Xuat, containing: Thai Tea, Star Anise Seed, Food Coloring FD & C Yellow #5. A 16 oz. bag cost $3.95.
At the register on the way out I had a pang of nostalgia that led to an impulse buy when I saw Pak Fay Yeoh, a medicinal balm I remember our housekeeper, Ah-Hing used to have.
Across the street and down the block from the French Culinary Institute is a Thai restaurant which we've been occasionally visiting since the beginning of Level 1 during dinner break to procure Thai Iced Tea. It's a deep, reddish, smokey, tea that's mixed with half-n-half and sweetened, condensed milk to create a sweet and creamy treat-- low-fat of course. Towards the end of Level 1 during our ice-cream class, a friend from class bought some during dinner and gave me the idea to use it in a dessert. But before experimenting, I need the ingredients, the tea.
I went to the Thai restaurant near school, bought some tea (above, left) asked what it was called and where I might find it and was directed to the convenience store at the end of the block. The women there told me they were out of it but showed me the canned version.
I headed into China town and after a little while, walked by a place on a side-street called Tongin Mart Inc. It was a wealth of treasures: seaweed of all sorts, noodles, powders, sauces, dried mushrooms, bean pastes, and countless other things to wander slowly through the aisles investigating, including at least four shelves devoted to teas.
A saleswoman directed me to the tea on a bottom shelf. The bag described the contents as being a product of Thailand, San Xuat, containing: Thai Tea, Star Anise Seed, Food Coloring FD & C Yellow #5. A 16 oz. bag cost $3.95.
At the register on the way out I had a pang of nostalgia that led to an impulse buy when I saw Pak Fay Yeoh, a medicinal balm I remember our housekeeper, Ah-Hing used to have.
posted by Turo at 2:42 PM
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