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Teh halia (ginger milk tea)
Teh halia: strong black tea brewed with smashed ginger and pulled frothy with condensed milk
Sit down at any mamak stall in Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Johor Bahru, from breakfast roti canai to the after-football supper at 1 a.m., and someone at the table will order teh halia. It is teh tarik's spicier cousin: dust-fine black tea is boiled with plenty of crushed ginger, mixed with condensed and evaporated milk, then 'pulled' between two mugs from arm's length until a thick froth forms. The result is sweet, creamy and malty, with a ginger heat that catches your throat, most loved on wet monsoon evenings. The common mistake is adding ginger to tea at the end; it then tastes raw and thin. Boil the ginger in the water first for several minutes so the heat goes into the liquid. It is ready when the tea is the colour of milky caramel and a dense froth a few centimetres high sits on top. This contains caffeine, so it is not for children. Chef's tip: practise pulling with water over the sink first, then start low and raise the mug slowly as you pour.
- Total time
- 11 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For two mugs
- 1 ⅜ oz fresh gingerunpeeled, smashed
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tbsp evaporated milk
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 1 ⅜ oz fresh ginger and 1 ¾ cups water in a small pot and boil over medium-high heat until the water turns pale yellow and smells strongly of ginger.
5 minStep 2: Add 2 tbsp strong black tea dust (Malaysian highland or Assam), lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is very dark, almost black.
2 minStep 3: Strain through a fine sieve or tea sock into a jug, pressing the ginger to get every drop.
1 minStep 4: Stir in 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk and 3 tbsp evaporated milk until the tea turns an even milky caramel.
1 minStep 5: Pour the tea from one mug or jug into another from about 40 cm high, back and forth 5–6 times, until a thick froth forms on top. Serve hot.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 130 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does teh halia (ginger milk tea) take?
- About 11 minutes in total: 3 minutes to prepare and 8 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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