Tea-Smoked Lychee Amuse Bouche

RECENT COMMENTS

mike commented on Pumpkin Ravioli With Broth And Beans:

I love fresh ravioli, and also really enjoy Paul Bertolli's book. Looks like a great dish!

parker in the house commented on Recipe: Veggie Chili Beans with Cornbread Dumplings:

Just let me say that your gentle mention, honor, effort and thought about Sarina makes me want to visit your blog (or whatever you call it) again! There are a lot of things on the net that are all about "me; I like; my fave; etc. but I love the ones like yours that graciously embrace and talk about a significant other as well as your audience.

Lael commented on Vegetarian Pozole de Frijol - Quick and Hearty Soup with Hominy and Pinto Beans - Recipe:

This sounds so flavorful and nourishing. Perfect for a cold winter day. I've never used hominy before, though I've seen it in the store before. Maybe I'll dive in now. With all the options for topping this, I think it would make a great one-pot meal for a group of friends.

Tony commented on I Like You (Hospitality Under the Influence), by Amy Sedaris - Cookbook Review with Recipe for Greek Koulourakia Cookies:

Michael, these look like fantastic cookies! In fact, they remind me of these Middle Eastern cookies that I grew up eating. I'll have to give this recipe a try and see how they compare :)

Kate commented on Irish Soda Bread - Recipe:

I made this last night with dried cranberries. It was delicious. I blogged about it, if you're interested. Thanks for passing on a great, easy recipe.

susrith commented on Recipe: Syrian Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup (Shurbat Addes):

Hi
i love to experiment with food......being a strict vegetarian does drw a lot of curious questions..........the soup u have posted is very close to Indian version of dal or simple "pappu"......we are all the same with our food after all!

great going!

rpe commented on How To Make A Delicious, Vegetarian Potluck Salad in Five Minutes:

hey man, i made this recipe for a potluck and it was great. Thanks for the idea!

Michael Natkin commented on I Like You (Hospitality Under the Influence), by Amy Sedaris - Cookbook Review with Recipe for Greek Koulourakia Cookies:

Wow, I guess I have to try her cupcake recipes, it sounds like they are universally loved.

Tea-Smoked Lychee Amuse Bouche

Fresh lychee smoked with genmaicha tea

This is the first of three amuse bouche I have in mind based on fresh lychees. (Hey, did you know that the plural of amuse bouche is amuse bouche? Learn something every day.) You could also serve all three as an appetizer trio instead of an amuse.

If you haven't had a fresh lychee, seek them out at a good Asian grocery or a high-end produce shop. I've even seen them at Trader Joe's. They are miles beyond the fairly sad canned fruit that sometimes appears in perfunctory desserts at Chinese restaurants.

Without a doubt the best use of these gems is to eat them out of hand, lazily peeling one at a time on a hot day. The flavor is quite sweet, but with a perfumed and slightly smoky note. Inside is a fascinatingly smooth pit (like the inner bark of a madrone/madrona tree for those of you on the west coast of the US).

The flesh of the lychee is, well, fleshy, which is what inspired this series of bites. It made me think that they could stand up to a fairly intense treatment while retaining their character. Since the fruit is Asian, I wanted to go with Asian flavors in a format like an omnivore might do with a mussel or scallop.

[Enjoying this post? Click to subscribe and keep up with our latest recipes.]

For the first amuse, I cold-smoked the lychee with genmaicha tea (a green tea with toasted brown rice), then served it cold with a broth of the same tea, a bit of grated ginger, and a couple microgreen leaves. Ideally the leaves would be micro-shiso, but I only had a mixed container and it is pretty hard to tell which is which!

Tea-Smoked Lychee Amuse Bouche
Serves 4
Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free

4 fresh lychee fruits
4 tablespoons genmaicha tea
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
4 leaves of micro-greens, or 4 tiny leaves of cilantro, or chiffonade of shiso
sea salt (Maldon is my fave!)

Peel the lychees. Use a paring knife to split the fruit in half, and working as carefully as possible, remove the pit. We only need 4 good halves but you'll probably muck some of them up - it is a little tricky.
Put 3 tablespoons of the tea in the bottom of a small pot. Put the lychee halves on some sort of rack or inverted metal cup inside the pot. Cover and place on lowest heat on your stove. After about 5 minutes, lift the lid and be sure there is some smoke being generated. If not, raise the heat a bit. Smoke for about 10 minutes or so.
Carefully remove the lychees from the smoker and chill them thoroughly.
Meanwhile, brew the remaining tablespoon of tea with a cup of boiling water for a few minutes, then strain and chill.
To serve, place one half of a lychee in each serving spoon or tiny bowl. Sauce with a spoonful of the "broth", then top each piece of fruit with a pinch of the grated ginger, a leaf or two of the greens, and a couple grains of salt.