Thai Iced Tea
You can’t eat Thai food without something refreshing to wash it down! Here’s the third component of our grain/dairy free Thai Takeout Night! Check out the Tom Kha Gai Soup and Yellow Curry with Prawns, and the final dish will be Pad See Ew.
My husband loves this Thai restaurant favorite. It’s a sweet, full-bodied beverage that perfectly compliments the spice and salty flavors of Thai dishes. I had never tasted it before but when I told him I was working on this series, he asked if I could make a Paleo Thai Iced Tea to go along with it. So we went for a little field trip to our favorite local Thai spot and ordered one of these ice cold drinks. It comes out full of ice and with a reddish orange tint. It’s really sweet, but creamy at the same time from the cream they put at the top. I read up on the drink when we got home and it seems that the majority of the Thai restaurants serve a very strongly brewed black tea that is colored with food coloring, then they mix in sweetened condensed milk and top it with half and half. No wonder my husband is wired when we get home from having Thai food!
I tested a few different black teas, and found that pure Assam tea has the closest flavor. It naturally has an orange hue so it looks a little like it too! You can add some natural food coloring if you’re really going for the bright red color, but it’s not really necessary. I made the tea strong by steeping extra bags and for triple the normal time. Coconut milk seems like the obvious half and half substitute to me since we’re already consuming so much of the creamy treat with Thai!
| Ingredients (6 servings)
1 whole star anise |
Directions
Bring water to a boil. Stir in the honey, then add the tea bags, star anise and cardamom. Cover and steep for 30 minutes.
Chill the tea in the fridge until it as at least room temperature, preferably cooler if you can wait!
Fill a glass with ice, then fill the glass 3/4 of the way full with the chilled tea (make sure it’s chilled so it doesn’t melt the ice cubes and make for a watery tea).
Top each glass with 2-4 tablespoons of coconut milk and serve immediately!
Store the extra brewed tea separate from the coconut milk in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Shared this week at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesdays
You may also like:
Comments
20 Responses to “Thai Iced Tea”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying...-
[...] interrupt the scheduled Thai Takeout broadcast for this special Giveaway from U.S. Wellness [...]
-
[...] Massaged Kale and Sweet Potato @ MJ’s Kitchen Refreshing Tea: Thai Iced Tea (Dairy Free) @ Against All Grain Please visit the other 6 Allergy-Free Wednesday hostesses (blog links can [...]
-
[...] of Thai Takeout Foods!! Check out the recipes for Tom Kha Gai Soup, Yellow Curry with Prawns, and Dairy-Free Thai Iced Tea to put together the perfect Paleo Thai [...]
-
[...] Thai Iced Tea from Against All Grain [...]
-
[...] Posted by Against All Grain on May 11, 2012 · 16 Comments {This is the first in a Thai Take-Out Dinner Series. Check back next week for Pad See Ew, Yellow Curry with Prawns, and Thai Iced Tea!} [...]
-
[...] milk to complete the experience. And if the weather’s not right for a steaming cup, try this Thai Iced Tea minus the honey, or use Whole9 Forum Moderator Renee Lee’s brew method: In my experience, if you [...]
I see you list the cardamom pods but didn’t see them in the recipe? I’m assuming they steep with the tea bags and star anise?
Oops! Yes you steep them with the tea. I’ll change it now!
I am featuring this refreshing tea this week on Allergy-Free Wednesdays!
Thanks Laura!
I would like to add that most Thai tea made in the shop in our coutries used the “Thumb Hand” brand. I don’t know if it’s better than other brand (because I use only this brand!) but all my friends said that it’s better (and cheap too) Unfortuneatly I haven’t found any “Thumb Hand” brand selling oversea. (Amazon haven’t got it)
My husband and I go to an organic Thai restaurant when we get the chance for date nights. Being dairy-free Thai places are a good bet, but I was sad to learn a couple years ago that the Thai Iced Tea usually came with a good deal of conventional dairy products. Strange since there is little dairy in most thai cooking. So every time we go, I think “I need to come up with a thai iced tea recipe so I can have it again!” But I usually forget. So when I found your blog this recipe was the first one I looked at and I”m so eager to try! I hope this long comment conveys my excitement over this recipe
lol thanks Eryn I sense your excitement! Most of the restaurants put condensed sweetened milk and cream in theirs!
One of my favorite iced teas, thanks for recipe
I had this at a Thai restaurant and loved it! I wish I had the star anise, cardamom and coconut milk! Maybe I can sub anise extract, Thai spices and coconut extract in regular milk? Do you think that would work?
Could you please tell me which kind of coconut milk you used? Full fat or light? Canned or carton? Thanks!
Full fat canned
Hi there! Thanks for posting this recipe! For me, it’s missing just a little bit of something hard to describe. The Thai Tea I’ve had locally has just a hint of smokiness. After doing a bit of Googling, I found that the most commonly known “smoky” tea is Lapsang Souchong. I made a second batch with 1/2 decaf Assam and 1/2 Lapsang, along with cardamom, anise, etc. It’s just a touch closer to the restaurant style I am familiar with. I wondered if you or any of your readers are familiar with the smoky flavor I am seeking and if the source is in fact Lapsang Souchong? Thanks again!!
I use a bagged loose-leaf tea from the Asian market…I have no idea what’s in it, but it’s the real (RED) deal…can you use this tea in kombucha, do you think?? I’m going to try the tea with honey and coconut milk first, of course, but I would LOVE to see if this works for kombucha!
I don’t know I’ve never made kombucha, sorry!