Xiaguan BBQ Chicken recipe experiments

[swordofmytriumph]

For tea paste/chagao it doesn't matter what you do. Just take a bunch of tea and start boiling away. Once you feel you've extracted enough, remove leaves. Wring them out, placing the reserve back in the pot and keep cooking. Stir as it gets thicker to prevent sticking. When it's ready pour out onto a sheet of wax paper. Cook leaves second time, as first cooking will be supersaturated solution that will not release all the stuff. This last point involves combining second brew with first before reducing it all down.

1123 Is my ratio of ripe-to-raw-to-yabao.

Thanks this helps a lot! A couple follow up questions, it’s just tea and water only? Will this work with any type of tea? Also, do you find that the tea gets bitter or loses anything from all the boiling?

[EarthMonkey]

awesome! thanks for sharing. i have to try that.

1123 Is my ratio of ripe-to-raw-to-yabao.

but i don't understand the ratio. i see 4 numbers but only 3 things.

11
2
3
About two to one ripe to raw.

[EarthMonkey]

Thanks this helps a lot! A couple follow up questions, it’s just tea and water only? Will this work with any type of tea? Also, do you find that the tea gets bitter or loses anything from all the boiling?

I only know of puerh chagao, though I have no reason to believe that the same process would not produce the same results with another tea. Only water.

Does the tea get bitter? It's a reduction. Elements intrinsic to the tea are going to be concentrated. Raw chagao is undrinkable, but the floral aromas (depending if used) are preserved. The market for chagao in China falls into two categories: health and pleasure. There are some outfits that produce very high grade chagao. These types only come in the ripe form and are evaluated in a fashion similar to ass-hide glue: translucency, brightness, sink/float, and dissolve rate. I've read about ripe chagao competitions as well. They're also looking for the absence of a burnt taste. Ripe chagao is sometimes just popped like a pill, for things like high cholesterol and hypertension. The raw, which is far less common, I suppose could be taken the same way but for different conditions.

Chagao has a taste distinctive from ripe brew. Fermented attributes disappear. Depending on how its processed it can have a v. clean and sweet taste. I have some higher grade pieces that you can hit me up for if interested. Most chagao is rough processed where no light shine through. The stuff I've made falls into this category. You typically don't use your finest to make it. I suppose some very fancy high-tech filtration techniques are involved in making the best, the prices certainly suggest so.

I should mention that when making your own and you've laid it out on the sheets, you then have to let the stuff dry out for several days. I can't remember how long, maybe a month or two, so you need the space and condition to allow this to happen.

[Victoria]

I have some higher grade pieces that you can hit me up for if interested.

@EarthMonkey, can you save me a piece, I’d like to try it at our next tasting.

awesome! thanks for sharing. i have to try that.

1123 Is my ratio of ripe-to-raw-to-yabao.

but i don't understand the ratio. i see 4 numbers but only 3 things.

11
2
3
About two to one ripe to raw.

Still not understanding your ratio @EarthMonkey. You said “about two to one ripe to raw” what is the Yabao ratio?
2 Ripe : 1 Raw : ? Yabao

[EarthMonkey]

I have some higher grade pieces that you can hit me up for if interested.

Still not understanding your ratio EarthMonkey. You said “about two to one ripe to raw” what is the Yabao ratio?
2 Ripe : 1 Raw : ? Yabao

I added the Yabao with the raw in making the approximation, as it contains some raw material.
Thus: 2 raw + 3 yabao = 5.

A little raw goes a long way. Fiddle to find what works for you.

[powersnacks]

Third experiment - Simple marinade vs no marinade

For this, I marinaded 1 chicken thigh in the tea liquor for 12 hours. I also cooked a control-thigh with it to compare.

...

The tea-thigh had the most subtle hint of sheng.

even though you didn't get much tea flavor, it still looks delicious. my compliments to the chef.

Thank you!

so with that said, i think the most realistic ways to get tea flavor in there are rubs (like in your first experiment) or reduction sauces. injecting the tea sauce can amp it up even more.

This and the paragraph before it were very helpful, thanks. I went out and got a "flavor injector" / giant meat syringe today!

This is the tea in my spice blender. I mixed in some cumin, coriander seed, paprika, and chili powder.

i have the same spice grinder, lol. i sharpied "no coffee! spices only!" on the lid.

Ahahaha yes!!! Exactly

[powersnacks]

As an update here, I'll be continuing on soon with experiments using my new meat syringe. I just wanted to take a break from eating so much chicken for a couple days

I am fascinated by the discussion here around the cha gao and grateful for your extra detail @EarthMonkey. I don't have much to add myself except to say thanks! I'll be picking up some cha gao on my next YS order so I can experience it!