Tea Smoked Tilapia
Use tea leaves to infuse a smoky flavor to any kind of fish with this Chinese tea smoked method ~ by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
It's pretty amazing that my recipe for this month's Recipe ReDux did NOT set off the smoke alarms in my house (come to think of it, maybe I should check those batteries.)
This month's ReDux theme is Cooking with Tea:
Tea cups around the world are bubbling up with bold new flavors: From cardamom chai and sencha green to bubble teas and veggie teas. We wish we could attend the World Tea Expo the end of this month – but in lieu of a plane ticket, we’ll be cooking and baking and stirring up tea-inspired healthy dishes.
....and my smoky house was not the result of a teakettle left on a burner overnight but instead from this makeshift smoker I put together.
But according to my Google search intense research on this Chinese cooking method of tea smoking, a smoky atmosphere means you are doing it right (though, you should pause when one recipe tells you to open every window in your kitchen, turn on the vent and any nearby ceiling fans.)
[bctt tweet="Build a DIY smoker on your stove! Tea Smoked Tilapia (in under 30 minutes) #thereciperedux @tspbasil" username=""]
The basic method to tea smoked fish is simple:
1) Mix together tea leaves with sugar and uncooked rice.
2) Add this mixture to a foil lined skillet or wok (using foil is key if you don't want to destroy your pan.)
3) Heat for a bit and then add your fish to a steamer and place on top of tea mixture.
4) Cover everything with a lid (damp towels around the lid help to seal in the smoke) and smoke away.
I used black tea from your run of the mill tea bags but would love to experiment with jasmine or Earl Grey tea on the next go around.
And in addition to fish, you can tea smoke just about kind of food from chicken to shellfish to tofu tomatoes to mushrooms. And since you are cooking and smoking the food at the same time, it's a much quicker process than using a smoker for hours on end.
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Tea Smoked Tilapia
- Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x
Description
The basic tea bags in your pantry can deliver amazing flavors beyond the tea cup. Use black tea leaves to make this Chinese style smoked tilapia.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup black tea leaves (from 16 tea bags)
- ½ cup uncooked jasmine or any long grain rice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 pound tilapia filets
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Mix vinegar, oil, ginger, pepper and salt in a large resealable bag. Add fish and marinate in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Line bottom of wok or large skillet with aluminum foil. Add tea, rice and sugar; mix together.
- Turn on the vent and open your kitchen windows! Heat over medium high for 7-8 minutes (until sugar starts to melt), stirring occasionally.
- Place fish in a steamer and place over tea mixture (or place fish onto a grid of chopsticks laid over tea/sugar/rice mixture.) Cover tightly and cover any exposed area between wok/skillet and steamer with damp kitchen towels. Reduce heat to low and smoke for 15-20 minutes, until fish flakes and is cooked through.
Notes
Method adapted from Min Tsai's Tea Smoked Trout w. Thai Cucumber Tomato Salad
I gotta say, I liked the flavor of the tilapia even better the next day. We used leftovers to make quesadillas and used the rest in a spaghetti dish the following day - yum!
Ever use tea for cooking before? What are you favorite types of tea (for drinking or cooking with) - please share! Check out all the creative tea inspired recipes from ReDux members below AND a link to Day #2 of Cooking with Tea here (featuring Regan's Gluten-Free Lemon Zinger Tea Bread - swoon):
I have never heard of smoking with tea before - your tilapia looks gorgeous and so tender! Thanks so much for sharing this one!
I have never heard of smoking with tea before - your tilapia looks gorgeous and so tender! Thanks so much for sharing this one!!
I never had heard of it either until I started researching "cooking with tea" - definitely a cool technique that I want to try with other foods. Thanks for your comments 🙂
Wow, good for you for trying something so new and different. Thank goodness you had your favorite young helper to assist you! Can't believe how big she is getting.
At first I was going to bag it and just make a lemon tea parfait (I still want to do it) but figured I'd give this a whirl because I had all the ingredients on hand. Speaking of daughters getting bigger, how about your eldest now being a college graduate?? Where does the time go 🙂
Wow, this is so neat! Who would've thought of smoked tea? I think my favorite part is eating it on a quesadilla for leftovers the next day. Mmmm that sounds delicous!
I know - this was such a fun find when I was researching tea this past month. I'm totally on a quesadilla kick in the past few weeks - love Lean Green Bean's recipe for homemade tortillas 🙂
I have never heard of this before! It sounds like it would be delicous, and the fish looks really tender! I love learning something new!
This was totally new to me too and I love that the whole process takes less than 30 minutes - who knew?? It did make for a very tender fish - let me know if you try it out!
Wow this sounds so interesting! What a fun way to play with tea. Was the rice cooked or uncooked when you put it under the fish? Is the rice edible afterwards or just a way to keep it from the bottom of the pan?
Oooh, all good questions (I'm going back to write "uncooked rice" in ingredient list.) So, you start with uncooked rice and once you finish smoking/cooking the fish, you'll quickly realize that the rice is definitely inedible 🙂 It becomes a hard burnt mess at the bottom of your pan (thus the importance of foil lining.) Do try it - it was really pretty easy to do!
Wow! what an adventure 🙂
I should have titled this "My Smoking Kitchen Adventure" 🙂
You're braver than I! I would have given up as soon as I saw smoke haha. Looks fantastic though!!
Honestly, if I knew what I was getting into, I may have balked but that's how quickly this works - by the time I figured out what it entailed, the fish was done 🙂
I had to laugh with the "open windows and vents". I am always setting off the smoke alarm in our place. We are renting and the alarms are very sensitive, so it is almost a daily occurrence 🙂
I did some very "official" research for this challenge too, but didn't come across smoking. That is so cool! And I love tilapia.
Hehe - that sounds like my old apartment! I'm off to read your ReDux post - so curious....
You should check tomorrow...my day is on the 22nd. I am so excited to post it though, this month's challenge was fun!
I just realized you post on the 22nd - can't wait to see it!! I loved this month's challenge 🙂
Yum! You read my mind! As I scanned the ingredients list and directions I thought this would work well for veggies too. I bet tea smoked mushrooms would be delicious.
Mushrooms are the next food I want to try this method on for sure!! Your parfait is simply gorgeous - seriously 🙂
Love this fun idea, and your sous chef is just fabulous! I've never tried smoking anything with tea before, but my chef's hat is off to you for your fabulous make-shift tea smoker 🙂 I'm a little scared if I try this it might get out of control, so wish me luck!
wow so unique and delicious sounding!
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
Great recipe Deanna! We're always looking for new ways to jazz up seafood, and this recipe hits the mark! Who knew?!
I know - this was such a revelation to me! Never had even heard of tea smoking until I started to brainstorm for this ReDux theme. And your pavlovas are simply lovely - swoon.
Love your "smoker." You are brave to try this, but looks like a gorgeous and flavorful result. Always looking to try seafood in different ways, so will have to give this a shot. And rarely cook with tilapia, so this is a great excuse.
I really couldn't believe how simple it was - scallops would be delish this way.. now you have me thinking....
I'm not sure if fish can look luscious, but to me, yours does! LOL
Thanks Renee - I know, I use luscious to describe other food, why not fish -lol!
I've been loving all the photos of your beautiful daughter on Instagram. She sure knows her way around the kitchen it seems ;). Like mother, like daughter. I've had tea smoked fish before at restaurants but never attempted to make it at home. My mom would be so impressed if I made this! Thank you for sharing!!
Aww - she knows how to make a mean muffin and while she likes to help, she's become a less adventurous eater (sigh) but hoping that changes as she gets older! And you could TOTALLY do this recipe - I've seen your cooking abilities on your blog - you go impress your mom!
Delicious! I love the tea theme. I can't wait to try it.
Thanks Marjory - clearly I have to get on the chia pudding wagon!
Wow, I can honestly say I just learned something. What an interesting method of cooking. I'm intrigued. Thanks for the info!
And I just learned a neat little trick from your oven baked dogs, too!
I'm familiar with the method but never tried it out or at home. That fish looks fantastic and even looks like it took on some color of the tea too.
That was one of the surprises (along with how easy this was) that it gave such a cool color to the fish.
I've never heard of this method before, but it sounds really interesting. I bet the fish was amazing.