MealMap #69
Where does this dish come from?
Name reveals in 2 guesses
A gruel of grain flour that is cooked in advance, usually by stir-frying, then made up to order: boiling water is poured over the flour in a bowl and stirred into a thick, paste-like mush. Sorghum, broomcorn or proso millet, glutinous millet and wheat all get used, alone or blended. It is served sweet, with white or brown sugar and sweet osmanthus jam. The name translates as "tea soup", though there is neither tea nor soup in it. The water traditionally comes from a huge copper kettle with a long, dragon-shaped spout, and a vendor's skill was judged on pouring without splashing and on leaving the mush thick enough for a chopstick to stand upright in it while somehow staying fluid. A savoury version made from millet flour alone is seasoned with sesame paste, ground peppercorns and salt instead.
- sorghum flour
- broomcorn millet flour
- proso millet flour
- glutinous millet flour
- wheat flour
- boiling water
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- sweet osmanthus jam
- sesame paste
- ground peppercorns
- salt
- beef fat
Photo: Zheng Zhou · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Modified