Green Tea Soup for the Soul

In the world of Malaysian food, lui cha fun is rather an anomaly. It's not a dish made with coconut milk, sweet or savory. It's not fried - in oil or lard. It contains no pork, chicken, lamb, or beef. It's light and fresh and full of fiber. Lui cha is ... healthy.

It's hard to imagine that the Hakka, a Chinese dialect group known for their seductive ways with fatty cuts of pork, invented lui cha fun. This Ho Po (a Hakka subgroup) dish of steamed white rice topped with vegetables and served with a green tea-based "broth" is about as far from khaw yoke (thick slices of stewed pork belly served with taro or preserved vegetable) as watered-down Horlick's is from a vanilla milkshake. It's poverty food, a dish invented of hardship and displacement, a satisfying meal conjured from cheap and portable ingredients stretched by tea and water.

It's commonly referred to in English as "Thunder Tea Rice" but the Chinese characters more accurately translate to something like "Pounded Tea Rice" (lui = to hit or beat). The name derives from the way the dish's broth is traditionally made: green tea leaves are pounded to a paste with peanuts, sesame seeds, and herbs and then steeped with water.

This Ho Po Lui Cha Fun vendor, who's Shah Alam business was established by her husband's grandfather, employs a slightly different method, pounding sesame seeds and peanuts separately from tea and herbs, and then mixing tea (lower right, in the plastic green tub), nut paste (next to the tea), and hot water by the bowlful.

Her camouflage-colored broth is fresh, clean, and "green" tasting, with a white pepper bite and a bitter note from the tea. Nut oils lend richness but overall it's surprisingly light, with a stong vegetal note that screams "good for you", an impression that's helped along by the accompanying bowl of a small portion of rice topped with peanuts, black-eyed peas, chopped mustard greens (both blanched fresh and sour preserved), blanched long beans and cabbage, tiny cubes of firm tofu, and salty dried shrimp.

I'd heard that lui cha fun is an acquired taste, and I know more than a few Malaysians can't stand the stuff, but I found it to be a superb combination of flavors and textures, reminiscent of the Japanese rice-and-green-tea dish ochazuke. Moistened with the well-seasoned broth, healthy rice and vegetables are transformed into savory spoonfuls - a fine break from fried and otherwise rich Malaysian foods but also a delightfully different dish to seek out based on its own merits.

If you're just visiting KL, without transport to this vendor's stall, and curious about lui cha, I understand it can also be had at Restoran Chuan Hupp on Jalan Wawasan Ampang 2/10, in Ampang. Perhaps readers will weigh in with other closer-to-KL spots to find this dish.

Copious thanks to C for the recommendation.

Ho Po Lui Cha Fun vendor, Xin Dajia Restoran, Jalan Sepadu (next to Public Bank), Taman Industri Axis, Section 25, Shah Alam. Early morning till 4pm-ish.

Comments

[Cupcake]

Yum yum. They do an organic version of this at the EcoGreen Cafe at :

Unit G3, Bangunan Bakti Siti Hasmah 6 Changkat Abang Haji Openg,
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail
Phone: 03-77292789

Also a friend of mine took me to a place in Kepong to eat this stuff - delicious. But you know that syndrome that afflicts Malaysians (or is it just me?!) - I know neither the name of the coffee shop nor the street. But I can take you there! Haha.

Cupcake

[Robyn]

Cupcake - ha ha, yes I know the affliction and I can assure you you're not the only victim! Thanks for EcoGreen Cafe reco.

[Fong]

Yes I was about to intro you about this humble hakka dish. I love the taste. The longer you munch on them, the taste get better. Simply love it.
Thanks for posting.

[babe_kl]

do try the lui cha at hor poh restaurant in pudu. its along the shoplots opposite dong bei

[Robyn]

Babe in kl, thanks for that reco. It's a lot closer than Shah Alam.

Fong - where's your favorite spot for lui cha?

[ss2_PJ]

got at ss2/67 PJ

[cho]

Now can get in USJ homemade traditional original recipe LUI CHA (service for weekends), if you are "LUI CHA KAKI" sure you will like it. You can't get this original taste other than here. SO...............delicious Yummy..yummy.
Contact no 012 683 0900
No.21 Jalan USJ 13/5C, Subang Jaya.

[Jayme Hill]

I love lui cha!!! My fav dish besides the mamk food :P well anyway..i thank my mom who taught me how to eat lui cha..and I love it..not at first but after several times of trying..in the end...I GREW TO LOvE IT!!It is very good for digestion and health....so those who wants to slim down eat lui cha for a week... i was 65kg before..after a mth of eating lui cha i am now 56kg!!!!Feeling good!!!

[Jayme Hill]

I love lui cha!!! My fav dish besides the mamk food :P well anyway..i thank my mom who taught me how to eat lui cha..and I love it..not at first but after several times of trying..in the end...I GREW TO LOvE IT!!It is very good for digestion and health....so those who wants to slim down eat lui cha for a week... i was 65kg before..after a mth of eating lui cha i am now 56kg!!!!Feeling good!!!

[Xander]

How intriguing. Malaysian lei cha and Taiwanese lei cha sound so different- yet with an almost identical base. I wonder if you can get this variety here in Taiwan? I'd love to try it. -X

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[CrazeeEat]

When I moved to Ampang, many years ago, i was intrigued to find a dish so full of greens!! Before I turned vegan, i was already savouring this dish. My favourite is in the coffee shop across the road from Spectrum Shopping Mall, Bandar Baru Ampang. The soup has a distinct basil scent thats invigorating! I counted at least 11 different veg, pickles, nuts & seeds in the making of this dish..

[acai berry diet]

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