
Lei Cha - a dish that is incredibly delicious and nutrition-packed!
Thunder Tea Rice, also known as Lei Cha – is commonly enjoyed with an array of side dishes made with various kinds of vegetables.
The combination of these vegetables makes this dish an incredibly delicious and nutrition-packed meal. Amp up the Thunder with more garlic in your rice and stir fry vegetables to savour the incredible flavours of everything Hakka!
We are thankful to home cook, Kelly Ng Chen, who has generously shared this wonderful thunder tea rice recipe inherited from her mum with us
Firstly, prepare the vegetables

Prepare the vegetables!
Rinse all the greens under tap water. Remove the basil leaves and mint leaves from its stem. Chop up the basil leaves, mint leaves and coriander to release its flavours.
Secondly, prepare the peanuts and sesame seeds.
Heat up a wok and dry-fry the peanuts. Once it’s warm, remove them from wok and place them in a sieve with large gaps. Once the temperature has cooled down, rub the peanut with your palm to remove the skin. Sieve the skin away from the peanut. Dry fry the sesame seeds in the wok till the fragrances releases and the colour of these seeds turn slightly brown.
Thirdly, combine all the ingredients together.
Fry the root of the coriander in oil for a minute. Add in all the vegetables and herbs.Give them a quick stir. Finish this off by adding a pinch of salt and turn off heat.
Here’s a few things to take note of while preparing the vegetables! Do not overcook them as they may turn yellow. We want to avoid adding too much seasoning as it might get too salty.. The taste of the vegetables should only be slightly more salty than usual as we are making a concentrated paste.
Next, blend the ingredients and fry the paste.

Blend the paste.
Blend vegetables with plain water, peanuts and sesame.
Now, prepare the side dishes.
Heat up a wok and fry minced garlic with oil until fragrance emits,and until it turns golden brown and crispy. Set this aside and stir-fry the vegetables with a pinch of salt.

Pan-fry Tau Kwa until it turns brown!
Cut the Tau Kwa into small cubes and pan-fry until it turns brown.
Wash Preserved Turnip for about three to four times. Squeeze the water out and wash again. Drain the excess water and pan fry with oil and garlic. Saute the dried shrimps with oil.
Lastly, fry the garlic rice and assemble!
In a wok, sauté the garlic till it is lightly browned. Add in the rice and stir fry for about two to three minutes. Add in water, seasoning and stir again. Pour everything into the rice cooker and steam it.
In a rice bowl, add in garlic rice and vegetables. Mix the concentrated Lei Cha paste with some hot water and pour it into the rice.

There you have it! Try this recipe out!
You may now serve the Lei Cha to your family and friends! Try it out this Thunder Tea Rice recipe today and let us know if you and your peers enjoy it!
Grab the full recipe below now!

Servings | Prep Time |
4 people | 40 minutes |
Cook Time |
20 minutes |
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Also known as Lei Cha - the striking taste of Thunder Tea Rice will definitely make any heart skip a beat! Awaken your senses with its potent mix of herbs that will leave anyone begging for more. Amp up the Thunder with more garlic in your rice and stir fry vegetables to savour the incredible flavours of everything Hakka!
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- 250 g thai basil leaves with stem Remove leaves from stem, leaves should weigh approximately 100g. (250克九层塔。把叶子拔出,叶重量约100克.)
- 250 g mint leaves Remove the leave from the stem. Weight of leaves should be 100g. (250克薄荷叶。把叶子拔出,只需100克的薄荷叶.)
- 60 g coriander leaves (60克芫荽)
- 120 g raw peanut (120克生花生)
- 30 g white sesame seeds (30克白芝麻)
- 1 teaspoon chicken powder (1茶匙鸡粉)
- 100 ml water (100毫升水)
- 250 g kai lan (250克芥兰)
- 250 g cabbage (250克包菜)
- 250 g long beans (250克长豆)
- 200 g tou kwa (200克豆干)
- 200 g preserved turnip salted (200克咸菜圃)
- 100 g dried shrimps (100克虾米)
- 30 g peanuts dry frying this portion with the quantity required for the soup (30克花生,和以上的花生-起翻炒)
- 10 g white sesame seeds dry frying this portion with the quantity required for the soup (10克白芝麻,和以上的克白芝麻-起翻炒)
- 10 cloves garlics chopped finely (10瓣大蒜,切碎)
- 3 cups rice (3杯米)
- 8 cloves garlic (8瓣大蒜,切碎)
- 3 3/4 cups water for cooking the rice (3 3/4 杯的水)
- 1 pinch salt (1撮盐)
- 1 teaspoon chicken powder (1茶匙鸡精粉)
- Rinse all vegetable with tap water. Remove the Basil leave and Mint leave from its stem. Roughly chop the Basil leaves, Mint Leaves and Coriander to release its flavors. 用水把蔬菜冲洗干净。将九层塔和薄荷的叶子拔出。然后,用刀切九层塔,薄荷叶和芫荽,以释放出香味。
- Heat up a wok and dry fry the peanuts. Once it’s warm, remove from wok and place them in a sieve with large gaps. Once the temperature has cooled down, rub the peanut with your palm to remove the skin. Sieve the skin away from the peanut. Dry fry the sesame seeds in the wok till the fragrances releases and the colour turn slightly brown. 在一个热炒锅里,干炒花生。一旦花生变热,把它放入一个筛子里。温度冷却后,用手掌搓花生,皮就会脱落。移动筛子让花生皮掉入垃圾袋里。 在同一个锅里,干炒白芝麻直到香味扑鼻,芝麻颜色变成淡棕色。
- In a wok, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil, add in the root of coriander and fry about 1 minute. Add in all the vegetables and herbs and give it a quick stir, add pinch of salt and off heat. Do not overcook till the vegetable turns yellow. Do not add too much seasoning, in case it gets too salty. The taste of the vegetable should just be a little bit more saltier than usual because we are making a concentrated paste. 在热炒锅里,加入1-2汤匙的油,放入芫荽根炒约1分钟。加入所有的材料,并将它快速翻炒,加入一点盐, 然后再翻炒一会儿。注意,不要把蔬菜炒到变成黄色。咸度可以稍微偏咸一点因为在使用前,需要加入热水。
- Once it cooled down a little, blend vegetables with plain water, peanuts and sesame. 一旦它冷却,把全部的材料倒入搅拌器。
- In a heated wok, add in 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of garlic. Stir-fry the vegetables with a pinch of salt, set aside individually. 准备蔬菜(芥兰,白菜,长豆)-在热炒锅里,加入1汤匙油和1茶匙的大蒜。各自倒入蔬菜翻炒,加入少许的盐。即使关火。
- Cut the Tau Kwa into small cubes, pan-fry until it turns brown, no salt is required. 把豆干切成小方块。然后煎到它变成棕色,不需加盐。
- Wash Preserved Turnip, wash 3-4 times, squeeze the water out and wash again. Drained and pan fry with oil and garlic. 清洗咸菜圃3-4次。弄干,然后与大蒜和油一起翻炒。
- Sautee dried shrimps with oil。 清洗虾米,然后更有一起翻炒。
- In a wok, add in 1 tablespoon of oil, sauté the garlic till lightly brown. Add in rice and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes. Add in water and seasoning, stir again. Pour it into the rice cooker and steam it. 在热炒锅里,加1汤匙的油 ,爆香大蒜。加入米,搅拌约2-3分钟。加入水和调味料,再次搅拌。倒入电饭锅蒸它。
- In a rice bowl, add in garlic rice and vegetables. Mix the concentrated Lei Cha paste with some hot water and pour it into the rice. Ready to serve! 在碗里,加入蒜米饭和蔬菜。将水倒入浓郁的擂茶里。搅拌好后,倒入米饭。上菜咯!
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