Old Beijing Tea Soup

Name

Old Beijing Tea Soup
Category

Specialty Delicacy
Origin

Beijing, Dōngchéng District

Old Beijing Tea Soup-1

The tea soup is a traditional snack in Beijing, with its origin dating back to the Ming Dynasty. It gets its name from the way it is prepared, by pouring hot water over it like tea, hence the name “tea soup”. There are mainly two types: Beijing tea soup and Shandong tea soup. The tea soup is made using a large copper kettle. After boiling the water, the kettle whistles as steam escapes from beside the lid. The tea soup maker holds a bowl in one hand and lifts the kettle with the other, tipping it so that the boiling water flows into the bowl, filling it up instantly. The main ingredients are glutinous rice flour (high-gluten millet flour), millet flour, brown sugar, white sugar, green threads, red threads, sesame seeds, walnut kernels, mixed fruit preserves, raisins, sweetened red bean paste, and pine nuts. Boiling water is used to mix the glutinous rice flour into a thin paste, which is then combined with various seasonings for consumption. It is enjoyed for its sweet, smooth, and silky taste.

The tea soup is a sweet food similar to藕粉, with its main ingredients being glutinous rice flour and millet flour, prepared with boiling water. However, it requires special preparation techniques. The seller first mixes the tea soup ingredients in a bowl, adds sugar and osmanthus essence; then fills a large, heavy copper kettle with boiling water. The seller must balance the kettle while holding a bowl in one hand and the handle of the kettle in the other. The bowl is positioned right next to the kettle spout when pouring, ensuring the water is poured precisely without spilling or mixing the sugar syrup. The seller must also control the flow of water to achieve the desired thickness of the tea soup. These are the skills required to make the perfect tea soup. Old hands can control the flow of water at distances of about one to two feet from the kettle spout, pouring all the water into the bowl without any spillage, and stopping the flow instantly after pouring, achieving the right thickness every time. The tea soup has a rich flavor, combining sweetness with the earthy aroma of grains, providing a comforting taste.

Recipe Characteristics

Features: The tea soup has a细腻 texture, sweet and fragrant taste, making it a specialty of Beijing, with a Muslim flavor. Due to its ability to be flipped upside down without spilling, it is known as “turning bowl tea soup”.

The tea soup has two key features: Firstly, it uses boiling water to cook the tea soup; secondly, it employs a unique tool—a large copper kettle with a dragon mouth. This kettle weighs around 9-9.5 kilograms and can hold 40 kilograms of water. When the charcoal inside heats the water to 100 degrees Celsius, the tea soup is cooked. The small whistle on the lid whistles as steam escapes, and the tea soup maker holds the bowl tightly against the kettle spout while pouring the boiling water into the bowl.

Health Benefits

Appropriate for those with insufficient qi leading to poor appetite, bloating after eating; for those with digestive system disorders causing frequent bowel movements, weakness; and for those with bleeding disorders such as excessive menstrual bleeding or uterine bleeding.

1. Digestive aid: Helps in the secretion of gastric acid and digestion of food, suitable for treating dietary indigestion.

2. Hemostatic and cooling blood: Suitable for patients with bleeding disorders. Suitable for women with excessive menstrual bleeding or uterine bleeding.

Ingredients

Ingredients: 500 grams of millet flour, 200 grams of brown sugar, 100 grams of white sugar, 10 grams of osmanthus essence, golden cake pieces, and green plum pieces.

Preparation Method

First, rinse the millet flour, soak it in cold water for 2-3 hours, grind it into flour, and sift it through a fine sieve to obtain millet flour.
Heat the water in the tea soup kettle.
Take a small bowl, add 50 grams of boiling water and 10 grams of cold water, mix them together, then add 1/10 of the millet flour to form a batter. Hold the bowl close to the kettle spout with your left hand, and tilt the kettle with your right hand to pour the boiling water into the bowl. Quickly widen the distance between the bowl and the kettle spout to increase the force of the water, ensuring an even distribution of the batter. Then pull the bowl closer again to create a chestnut yellow tea soup.
Once the tea soup is ready, sprinkle 20 grams of brown sugar, 10 grams of white sugar, and 1 gram of osmanthus essence on top. You can also add golden cake pieces, green plum pieces, etc. The given ingredients are enough to prepare 10 bowls of tea soup.

Culinary Culture

Tea Soup Culture

Viewers of the TV series “Four Generations Living Under One Roof” will remember the scene where Qi LaoTaiyeye buys a rabbit statue from a street vendor, including a shot of a tea soup vendor calling out. A large tea soup kettle steams with hot water, the copper kettle shines brightly, with a dragon design on the body and a dragon-shaped spout adorned with silk ball decorations. The tea soup is made using boiling water directly poured into a bowl containing tea soup ingredients. The tea soup kettle weighs 40 kilograms and requires both strength and skill from the tea soup maker. Without proper technique, the tea soup may not be well-made, and there's a risk of being burned. The quality of tea soup is high, and it is said to have been served in the Qing Imperial Palace's imperial kitchens. The tea soup requires skillful preparation, including the use of millet flour, which is ground into flour and mixed with boiling water before being poured into the kettle. It is sprinkled with brown sugar and a pinch of white sugar. The quality requirement is that when turned upside down, the tea soup sticks to the bowl, hangs loosely, and cannot fall off. Unfortunately, the market supply of true millet is limited due to its low yield and infrequent cultivation.

In addition to millet, white sticky millet flour can also be used as the base ingredient, but its quality is generally inferior to that of millet. Children tend to enjoy tea soup. The poem “A Sweet Meal for Infants” from “Hundred Foods of the Old Capital” serves as evidence: “Boiling water gushes from a copper kettle, clear soup rolls out. A bowl of tea soup can fill you up, its sweetness best for infants.” The poem notes that tea soup is often sold by street vendors and carried in baskets, and the only distinctive feature is the copper kettle. Its sweetness makes it appealing to children. The tea soup is known for its smooth and tasty taste. However, it is unclear whether one can still find tea soup made from true millet flour.

Beijing Li's Tea Soup

Beijing Tianqiao's Li's Tea Soup has a long history, being a traditional specialty delicacy in Beijing. The tea soup has a sweet and fragrant flavor, a chestnut-yellow color, and a delicate and pleasant taste. In the Qing Dynasty, “In the early morning, a sweet porridge soup, then tea soup and then tea.” Old Beijing people preferred drinking tea soup from Juyuanzhai in the front gate area and Li's Tea Soup at Tianqiao. Tianqiao Li's Tea Soup is soft and delicate, with a strong fragrance. They offer over ten varieties of tea soup, and in December 1997, Beijing Tianqiao Li's Tea Soup Restaurant was awarded the title of “First National Chinese Famous Snack” by the Chinese Cuisine Association. To prepare tea soup, wash the millet flour, soak it in cold water for two hours, drain the water, grind it into flour, sift it through a fine sieve, and obtain millet flour; fill the tea soup kettle with cold water and boil it. Take a bowl, add boiling water and a little cold water, mix them together, add one-tenth of the millet flour to form a batter, then pour the boiling water into the bowl to cook the batter; sprinkle brown sugar, white sugar, and osmanthus essence on top. Tea Soup Li combines traditional craftsmanship with modern science, developing fresh lotus root tea, pearl milk tea, milkshakes, and sundaes. Notably, the fresh lotus root tea has detoxifying, diuretic, and hangover relief benefits.

Tea Soup Li has opened multiple branches across the country, with the Beijing Tianqiao branch of Huabai Fast Food having operated for seven years. The tea soup ingredients are supplied by the Beijing Tianqiao Li's Tea Soup main store, ensuring the authentic taste of Beijing Tianqiao Li's tea soup.

Many businesses that operate this type of business also offer藕粉.

Three Forms of Selling Tea Soup and Oily Tea in Old Beijing:

Street vendors who walk around and call out to sell tea soup during the spring and autumn seasons around 3-4 PM. They carry a large copper kettle, which is double-layered, with water outside and fire inside, and a charcoal stove under the bottom to store charcoal and fire chopsticks. They also carry a large wooden bucket with a water scoop, and a small roof-shaped long wooden strip inside to place bowls, spoons, millet flour, fried flour (oily tea), tapioca, and a jar of brown sugar. When customers want to buy, they first mix a small ceramic bowl of millet flour or oily tea with a little boiling water, then lift the copper kettle high to pour, using a small copper spoon to vigorously stir until it turns into a paste, and then hand it to the customer.
Tents set up for tea soup sales, mostly found at fairs. The stall is covered with linseed oil, about 10 meters long, with a bench in front and glass boxes placed on it, divided into several compartments for flour, sugar, and fruit. There are dozens of small colored bowls and many small copper spoons placed in a single container. Behind the stall is a large copper kettle filled with boiling water, with the kettle lid, spout, and belly decorated with brass patterns. Clean, clean bowls, shiny kettles, and bright stalls can stimulate appetite.
Stores located on major streets, with the large copper kettle as a signboard. Inside, there are seats. They sell yuanxiao during the first and second months of each year. The tea soup is made by boiling millet flour into a thick porridge, then using a fine chopstick to repeatedly swirl sesame paste onto the porridge, spreading it evenly. Finally, sprinkle a layer of sesame salt and ginger powder. This is a type of affordable snack for impoverished urban residents.

Tea Soup in Beijing's Lifestyle

“In the morning, a sweet porridge soup, then tea soup and then tea,” this verse in “Poems of the Old Capital” depicts the diverse street snacks in old Beijing. Although tea soup and tea are called “tea,” they are not the same type of snack.

The tea soup has been popular since the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing. It was originally a royal tea snack, and later the common people followed suit. The tea soup is made by pouring boiling water over cooked millet flour with brown sugar. Another similar snack, oily tea, is made by frying flour with butter or vegetable oil, then adding boiling water.

Both tea soup and oily tea claim to have eight treasures, which actually refers to adding ingredients such as dried fruit strips, green and red threads, raisins, walnut kernels, and pumpkin seeds to enhance their sweet and delicious taste.