Chinese New Year Recipe: Lychee Ginger Tea Poached Asian Winter Pears

Credit: Optimum West

The subtle flavour of Asian Winter pears is paired with lychee and ginger

Vancouver Chef Nathan Wong offers a three-course Chinese New Year menu that ends with a delicately poached pear flavoured with lychee ginger white tea

Chef Wong has fused the goodness of tea and the nutrition of fresh ingredients to create three dishes featuring Canadian company Four O’Clock teas.

This dessert pairs the subtle flavour of Asian Winter pears poached in lychee ginger white tea with chocolate spice infused cream.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 3 sachets Four O’Clock Lychee Ginger White Tea
• 6 firm Asian, Barlett or Bosc pears
• ¾ cup sugar
• One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• Peel of half lemon and half orange
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 sachets Four O’Clock Chocolate Spice Tea
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• ½ cup low fat French vanilla yogurt (optional)

Instructions

1. In a saucepan bring the water to a boil.
2. Move from heat, add the Four O’Clock Lychee Ginger White Tea sachets and steep for 5 minutes.
3. Peel the pears.
4. Place the tea, sugar, ginger and peels into a saucepan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer.
5. Over medium heat bring the mixture to boiling point, or until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Reduce heat to simmer, add the pears and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, turning occasionally to evenly cook.
7. Remove from heat and allow pears to cool in syrup.
8. Cover and refrigerate. 
9. To make infused cream, in a small saucepan, add the whipping cream and bring to boiling point.
10. Remove from heat and add the Four O’Clock Chocolate Spice tea sachets and steep for 10 to 15 minutes or until fragrant.
11. Squeeze out sachets and discard.
12. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Pour into a chilled mixing bowl, add maple syrup and whip until stiff peaks. Fold in yogurt, if using, until well mixed. 
13. To assemble, remove pears from poaching liquid, drain well, and place one in a chilled serving dish.
14. Drizzle each with some of the poaching liquid and garnish with dollops of the cream.
15. Alternate option: the poaching liquid can be reduced by simmering to make a thicker syrup.

Chinese New Year Menu

Appetizer: Lime Ginger Mint Herbal Tea Poached Chicken Salad with Wild Berry Herbal Tea Infused Vinaigrette

Entree: Green Tea Spice Rubbed Salmon

Nathan Fong has been an award-winning food stylist for print and film advertising for the past 24 years and is an internationally published food and travel journalist. He currently is celebrating his 21st year on Global BCTV News with his Saturday Chefs and Fong on Food segments. He has been a regular contributor to CBC Radio One as well as a food columnist for The Vancouver Sun and contributor to Taste Magazine and EAT Magazine. In addition he has worked for Enroute, Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking, Cooking Light, Men’s Health UK, and NUVO.
 
His other television segments have included working with NBC’s The Today Show during the 2010 Winter Olympics, BBC and Sky Television, The Discovery Channel, both from England as well as the Food Network, USA and Canada, and New Zealand and Japan TV. He received the silver medal for the 2009 Food Network Challenge in the Superstar Foodstylist Competition.
 
In 2002 he was selected as one of the “Top 10 Food Trend-setters of the Future in Canada” by the Globe and Mail and was the recipient of the inaugural IACP/Julia Child Award of Excellence for food styling in 1998. In 2006 he was nominated for the national Gemini Awards (Humanitarian) for his dedicated work with the Dr. Peter Centre, the Vancouver hospice for people living with HIV and AIDS.