Tart London: How to make Burmese tea leaf salad

There is a lot of hype about Burma at the moment, and we can see why. It is one of the most wonderful countries we have ever visited. The people are so kind, the country is incredibly beautiful — we’ll never forget an utterly breathtaking hot air balloon ride over the ancient temples of Bagan at sunrise — and the food is pretty damn good too.

We’re particularly obsessed with Burma (Myanmar as it is also known) as Lucy’s brother Harry is the founder of The Lost Tea Company, which brings organic fermented tea salad and green drinking tea straight from the Shan Hills to London. We had never heard of anyone eating fermented tea before our visit to Burma last year, where it’s known as ‘lahpet’ and is combined with crunchy beans to become the iconic Burmese tea leaf salad, a national dish that’s packed full of antioxidants and probiotics.

Fermented foods have been making headlines for a while, as they’re excellent for your gut. Other fermented products that you can find in supermarkets are kefir (fermented milk), kombucha (fermented tea with added sugar), kimchi (fermented vegetables) and miso (fermented soya bean, barley or brown rice). Fermented green tea is the new one to add to the list.

The Burmese have been eating this unique food for centuries and now we’re experimenting with fermented tea ourselves, coming up with new recipes for soups, salads and fresh summer rolls. This recipe is our favourite salad: light, crunchy and super-tasty. We’ll be serving it this weekend at Druid Street Market in Bermondsey — come and find us! The tea can be bought online and soon in delis throughout London, but if you can’t find it you can substitute kimchi or sauerkraut. As the Lost Tea Company says, it’s time to ‘Eat Your Tea’.

For the dressing

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

Juice of 2 limes

A squeeze of honey

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

For the salad

100g tofu

Olive oil

30g fermented tea leaf

80g mixed nuts

1/2 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, deseeded and sliced

150g sugar snap peas

4 radishes, sliced

5cm ginger, peeled and chopped

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

1 bunch of coriander, chopped

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and fry the tofu for three minutes until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Carefully mix the remaining salad ingredients together, pour over the dressing and combine with the tofu. Serve on a pretty platter.