Recently, there was a new stall at the food court at Lucky Plaza Level 6. They sold 擂茶, a “dish” which consists of rice with an assortment of crush nuts and vegetables accompanied by a bowl of “soup” made from tea.
擂茶is clearly a Hakka dish. As for its origins, I may need to make a trip to my ancestral home to interview the Hakka people there. But as for the name, 擂茶 I know for a fact that it certainly does not mean “thunder tea”.
The Chinese word 擂 means to strike or pound. And there are many levels of 擂. When you punch someone flat in the face, you can call that 擂. When you pound on a drum with your fists, that is also called 擂. When someone massages you with his elbow or fist, that can also be called 擂. Hence, 擂茶 is called 擂茶 because it involves a lot of pounding and grinding. The ground ingredients, including tea leaves, are made into a soup. This is eaten with rice sprinkled with more ground ingredients.
擂茶is often a more or less vegetarian dish. The example you see in the picture is vegetarian except for the ikan bilis. It’s filling but not fattening – excellent for weight watchers. Just don’t call it “thunder tea”.
