Summary: a delicious recipe inspired by Sencha green tea. Not only tastes good, it is easy to make and good for you!

Sencha inspired soy Vinaigrette

Writing about Sencha inspires me to find and post recipes that are a bit more interesting than just boiling water and adding some tea leaves to it. Nothing is wrong with that, actually quite the opposite but here I want to share a less obvious and more interesting option for using green tea. How? Make a healthy and delicious salad dressing with your green tea! The result is a light and healthy vinaigrette that has a subtle grass-like taste and is full of antioxidants.

Ingredients: 

• 1 tsp Sencha green tea
• 1-2 tbsp white wine or rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp peanut oil or coconut oil (for a more discreet taste just use canola or grapeseed oil)
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp light soy sauce
• pinch of pepper or chili flakes (optional)
• 4 tbsp water
• 1/4 chopped onion (can be diced or thin slices)

Preparation of the tea:

Place your Sencha leaves in a bowl and pour hot water over (do not use boiling water!) Let the infusion sit for about 5-6 minutes while you prepare your salad.  For the salad you can use any type of vegetables you like. My favorite salad for this dressing is using mixed greens with peeled and chopped cucumbers. Add some shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, pre-cooked sweet potatoes, and a boiled egg.  I add some peanuts and sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top at the end, and my lunch is ready! I got carried away with the recipe but let’s return to the tea preparation.

Once the infusion is ready, squeeze the tea leaves dry, and place the tea and the leaves in separate bowls. Next, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, water  and than add the onions, cooled tea infusion, the oil. Finally some of the sencha leaves. Season it with salt and pepper or chilly and drizzle it over your salad only when your are ready to serve and eat. The reason for this is that natural oxidation occur in the tea leaves, and the color changes to a much darker shade. The taste of the leaves will also become more mellow that might not fit that well with the freshness of the salads.