Tea Noodles Soup

Or rather...noodles in tea broth. Ever wonder what to do with the yummy left over tea broth from tea eggs? Tea eggs is probably more familiar to those of you in Asia. Tea eggs are extremely aromatic and flavorful hard boiled eggs steeped in a tea spice blend for hours. The tea spices usually come conveniently in a pouch and you can get them easily in any grocery store in Asia. Here in North America, you will have to try your luck at your local Chinatown or Chinese grocery store.

I made a bunch of tea eggs last week for a BBQ gathering. Instead of throwing away all that flavorful tea broth, I decided to make a noodle soup dish with it and it turned out super yummy!

First of all, my tea broth has added ingredients. Instead of simply following the preparation instructions on the tea bag package, I added tamari (Japanese light soy sauce), ground cumin, ground coriander, nutmeg, pepper and salt.

In this noodle soup recipe, I have chosen to use kale because it is a dark leafy green vegetable that is both super nutritious as well as hearty enough to withstand the strong flavors of the tea broth. Kale is a very good source of calcium and iron. Less hearty vegetables such as spinach or broccoli won't work as well. If you can't find kale in your local supermarket, a good alternative is swiss chard. If you are at a loss sometimes how to add dark green leafy vegetables into your diet, try this recipe!

Ingredients (serves 1):
1. 1 cup kale, julienned
2. 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3. 1/2 tomato, diced
4. 1.5 cups tea broth
5. 1 cup water
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
9. 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
10. 1 cup of your favorite noodles, dry
11. Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. In a medium pot, bring to boil tea broth, water and bay leaf.
2. Once boiling, add shiitake mushrooms and tomatoes, onion powder, curry powder and chili flakes and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.
3. While the broth is simmering, bring some water to boil in another pot to cook the noodles.
4. Cook noodles until almost al dente. Do not cook until al dente because we will be finishing the cooking in the broth.
5. While the noodles start to cook, add kale into broth and sprinkle with salt to draw out the natural juices in the vegetable. Allow broth to continue to simmer.
6. Once noodles are ready, add them into the broth and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. If necessary to prevent drying out, feel free to add a little more water to the broth.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Nutritional value of this recipe:
At only 340 calories for the entire serving, you are getting almost 5g of fiber, your daily required Vitamin A and C, 20%* of your daily required iron and 15%* of your daily required calcium. This is truly another great way to enjoy hearty kale.

* based on a 2,000 calories a day diet