That Will Bring Thundering Flavours To Your Mouth
The most memorable aspect of Lei Cha Fan would be its almost fluorescent green soup that is quite the eye catcher. Often touted as health food, lei cha fan or Thunder Tea Rice repels those who scoff at vegetables and more wholesome eating options.
Chock full of basil, mint, long beans, a whole lot of other greens, peanuts and dried anchovies (ikan bilis). The word “lei” means “grind” in Chinese but, also “thunder”. Traditionally, ingredients for the tea soup was ground up and pounded using a large motar and pestle which gave the dish its “thunder” moniker. “Cha” on the other hand means “tea”, and refers to the tea soup. However, soup also contains tea, nuts, sesame and herbs like mint and basil, giving it that unmistakable green hue.
With the growing popularity of healthy rice and grain bowls as the choice meals among weary office workers, it begs the question of why isn’t lei cha fan more massively consumed? Instead the dish has been relegated to something of an underground cult following. The medley of ingredients create a flavourful meal-in-a-bowl, although some people think it to be bland. Not everything has to be smothered in heavy seasoning.
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THUNDER TEA RICE (HAKKA LEI CHA RICE)
I never knew of thunder tea rice until many years ago, a Malaysian friend introduced me to this dish. I thought it was weird at first, but I couldn’t say I didn’t like it either. The color of the tea soup was not particularly an attractive sight either. The family prepared it from scratch and there were like at least 6-7 vegetable side dishes to go with the rice. The more I ate it the more I grew to like it, especially when I drenched the rice and everything else in that tea soup. Then I found it at Food Republic in Singapore and it made it into my weekly thing for dinner.
Thunder tea rice or Lei Cha is traditional rice dish accompanied by several sides of vegetables, toppings like nuts, tofu, etc. The whole thing is then drenched in tea soup. The special thing about this is, at least to me, the tea soup. I’m sure many Hakka families have slightly different recipes to prepare the lei cha concoction. This recipe uses basil leaves, mugwort leaves (ai cao ye), mint leaves, coriander leaves, peanuts, sesame seeds, peppercorns, tea leaves and salt. I can’t find mugwort leaves here in the U.S., so, I omitted that from the recipe and used the rest of the ingredients to prepare the lei cha.
Healthy eating never tastes so good! To me at least! But I think you either like it or not kinda thing! There are slight bitterness, sweetness, and savoryness in this dish coming from veggies, toppings, and the tea soup. It’s definitely an acquired taste.
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Traditional Hakka Lui Cha – Clean Eating Has Never Tasted This Good!
As an ardent fan of anything and everything that is meaty, you’ll never find me queuing in front of a vegetarian stall for lunch. That was until a vegetarian friend of mine started raving about this stall in Jurong West Food Centre — Traditional Hakka Lui Cha (河婆客家擂茶).
Lei cha fan (擂茶饭) is also known as Thunder Tea Rice. The Lei (擂) in lei cha fan actually means grind in Chinese, but it also sounds like the word for ‘thunder’ (雷). A traditional bowl of lei cha fan contains rice and is chock full of fresh vegetables, tofu and nuts. However, the true highlight of any lei cha fan is the flavourful green soup that is served on the side.
Although hesitant at first, I decided to have lei cha fan for lunch, in an attempt to be health conscious for once. I arrived at the stall at around 11am and I was surprised to see that a queue of five to six people had already formed. After speaking with the owner, I found out that the stall has been open for more than 10 years! The storefront proudly advertises its food to contain less oil, less salt and no MSG, so you can be confident that you’re having a guilt-free meal.
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HAKKA THUNDER TEA RICE @ TANGLIN HALT FOOD CENTRE
The thunder tea rice stall at Tanglin Halt Food Centre is one of the more popular options that draw a perpetual queue during lunch hour.
When I was there, customers were already crowding in front of the stall waiting for them to open for business at 11am.
As the opening hour neared, the crowd automatically formed a line in a orderly manner. While standing in the queue, I observed that the stall owner is working inside the stall without switching on the lights. Makes one wonder how does he see in the dark?
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Traditional Hakka Rice (河婆客家擂茶) – Healthy Thunder Rice in Tanjong Pagar
I met Chris who helps out at his mother’s thunder rice stall “Traditional Hakka Rice (河婆客家擂茶)” in Tanjong Pagar. Born into a Hakka family, Chris is familiar with thunder tea rice as it is their staple. Chris’ mother has been selling thunder tea rice since 2011. Chris was doing sales previously but decided to help his mother full time in 2017, and he hopes to take over the business in future.
Freshness is the key to good lei-cha, and here that’s a guarantee. Every morning, Chris’s mother pounds a mixture of fresh green herbs such as basil and peppermint with Chinese tea leaves and peanuts in a large bowl to make a nourishing lei cha soup. Each bowl of lei cha($3.50) comprises steamed rice, dainty cubes of toufu, mustard greens, kai lan, long beans, peanuts, dried shrimps, pickled radish and more. Brown rice is available at a top up of $0.50. They’ve got the side dishes-to-rice ratio more than right — the portions of the sides are surprisingly generous.
While some lei cha soup may be too bitter or harsh-tasting, this bowl of minty soup was not as overwhelming, despite being incredibly piquant and rich. I poured the whole bowl of soup into the rice and ate it together. If you like your soup very strong, this may not suit your tastebuds, but if you are someone who is trying lei cha for the first time, you will enjoy it.
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Thunder Tea Rice Pte Ltd (Toa Payoh)
Thunder Tea Rice Pte Ltd Toa Payoh: Toa Payoh Lorong 6, HDB Hub Blk 480 #B1-01 (Gourmet Paradise) (S)310480
Thunder Tea Rice (Lau Pa Sat)
Thunder Tea Rice Pte Ltd Lau Pa Sat| Lau Pa Sat Stall 31, 18 Raffles Quay (S)048582
Thunder Tree
Thunder Tree | Woodlands Industrial Park E1 stall 8, (S)757716
Traditional Hakka Rice (河婆客家擂茶)
Traditional Hakka Rice 河婆客家擂茶 | Tanjong Pagar market and food centre #02-21, 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Lin Da Ma Lei Cha (林大妈 擂茶)
Lin Da Ma Lei Cha | Amoy Street food centre #02-127, 7 Maxwell Rd, (S)069111
Jinyi Foodstuff Enterprise
Jinyi Foodstuff Enterprise | Clifford Centre #01-K3, 24 Raffles Place (S)048621
Hakka Thunder Tea (客家佬擂茶)
Hakka Thunder Tea (客家佬擂茶) | Tanglin Halt food centre #01-31, Blk 3A Commonwealth Drive (S)140003
