39 comments

Thai Tea Oatmeal

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You know you are a true foodie when your Christmas presents from your sister consist of a huge jar of pink sugar crystals, vanilla beans, saffron, and Thai iced tea mix. You know you’re a super nerdy foodie when you jump up and down like a six year old upon receiving all of these delicious yum yums. Well, I wear my nerdy foodie hat proudly! And to say that I was excited to get these gifts would be a complete understatement.

My first creation—this Thai tea oatmeal. But to my surprise, I’ve told two people about this oatmeal and both of them frowned their faces at the sound of it. And I just can’t quite figure out why. I can’t figure out why oatmeal made with plain water or milk would be better than oatmeal made with a flavorful concoction like Thai tea (or chai or soy nog… mmmm). In my mind, it’s like someone preferring to eat tofu straight out of the container, rather than marinated in chili and lime. And actually, one friend doubted whether this oatmeal is even “blog-worthy.” YIKES! Well, foodie friends, it is. And it is, for the following reasons:

1. It tastes good. Dang good, I might add.

2. It’s different, innovative even, and yet super simple.

3. It’s highly adaptable. It can be made with earl grey tea or rooibos tea or chocolate-peppermint rice milk, you name it.

The point is, sometimes convention is great, and a bowl of traditional oatmeal is whatcha crave. But that can get tired, and if it does, I would totally recommend playing around with the cooking liquids that you use to prepare your oatmeal (especially if the alternative is that sugary stuff in a box full of old dry fruit that’s been sitting on the shelf for months). O.K., I am totally off of my soap box. Happy National Oatmeal Month! And thanks again Keyla and family for the wonderful Christmas gifts!!! 😀

Thai Tea Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup almond (or other) milk (+ additional milk for the end)

2 teaspoons – 1 tablespoon thai tea mix

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash salt

Method:

*Heat water in small sauce pan just until it boils. Add desired amount of Thai tea mix and dissolve. Drop heat to medium.

*Add milk, salt, oats, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Cook over medium for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add to bowl and drizzle with additional milk (if desired).

I added the milk and THEN turned the heat down. This is what happened.... when you make this oatmeal definitely turn the heat down FIRST, so your milk doesn't end up all over your stove 😀

I added about 1/8 cup of additional milk at the end because I like really creamy oatmeal, but this is, of course, optional!

P.S… This is the Thai tea mix that I used:

Written by

Tiffany M. Griffin is the woman behind Como Water, Washington DC’s premiere veg-centric cuisine consulting company. Through cooking classes, demonstrations, catering, and consultations, Como Water gives people the opportunity to learn how to prepare veg-centric cuisine that boasts maximum flavor, with minimal effort. Tiffany is quickly becoming a go-to expert on the future of veg-centric cuisine, and is a regular contributor to Como Water, the blog, as well as to vegetarian and vegan sites across the Internet. For over a decade, this self-taught, entrepreneurial expert has developed a set of tried and true techniques for making simple, delicious, and sometimes decadent veg-centric dishes. Featured on the Steve Harvey Show and other leading media outlets, Tiffany was born and raised in Springfield, MA. She then earned Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Communications from Boston College and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. She now resides in Washington DC, where she has worked in the US Senate and at a federal agency on issues around health, food, nutrition, and international food aid/development, and of course, as the owner of Como Water. Tiffany gets culinary inspiration from the food she grew up eating, and from her travels throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is dedicated to sharing her wealth of knowledge on veg-centric cuisine with others and to help others live by her mantra—love life, live long, and eat veg-centric cuisine!

Comments

  1. Steph@stephsbitebybite

    This sounds so good! Why have I never thought to do this?!

    January 16, 2011
  2. Lori

    What a nice twist for my morning oatmeal! I make a big batch on Sunday, portion it out into bowls so all I have to do is heat it in the microwave in the mornings. (I like to drizzle on some maple syrup!) I am going to have to try other liquids to cook it though! Great idea! (Tell you friend this is definitely blog worthy!)

    January 16, 2011
    • griffito

      Thanks Lori! I will! 😀

      January 18, 2011
  3. Irena

    Hmm…sounds very nice, recently I noticed that a lot of breakfast ideas are connected with teas…I would love try this recipe,thanks for posting:)

    January 16, 2011
  4. Keith

    Interesting… I’ll have to try this next time I’m around for sure!!

    January 16, 2011
  5. A little bit of everything

    I just entered the super nerdy foodie club :))
    i too jump with joy. what a relief knowing I’m not the only one, whew :))

    and now I can only imagine the flavor of your oatmeal, mmmm

    have a wonderful weekend,
    Roxana

    January 16, 2011
  6. Cristina

    I look forward to oatmeal in the morning, especially on these chillier days. This is a great idea that I’ll try tomorrow morning using some Chai Tea – thanks for the idea! 😉

    January 16, 2011
  7. Chef Dennis

    thats quite an interesting combination of flavors!! thanks for sharing your wonderful creation with us!
    Dennis

    January 16, 2011
  8. Felice - All That's Left Are The Crumbs

    I say dare to be different. I love the sound of Thai Tea Oatmeal.

    January 16, 2011
  9. Lisa {AuthenticSuburbanGourmet}

    What a unique way to make oatmeal – must give it a try! Thank you for sharing.

    January 16, 2011
  10. Melissa

    What a great idea! I think I’ll try it with Chai. People put cinnamon and sugar on oatmeal all the time so I think Chai would be a natrual!

    January 16, 2011
  11. Ali @ Around The VeggieTable

    Yum! Sounds delicious! I’ve been relatively unsuccessful making exciting oatmeal flavors (a random thing to not be good at, I know…) but this sounds like something I may have to attempt! I got chai concentrate for Christmas that could be super tasty. Was the amount of tea you used the same amount in a typical glass? I don’t want to mess this up 🙂

    January 16, 2011
    • griffito

      The thing with Thai tea is that you mix it with a bit of water and then ‘dilute’ it with milk. I would think the same would be true with Chai concentrate. I would use 1 cup of liquid for every 1/2 cup of oats, and probably use a bit less concentrate than the instructions suggest for an 8 oz cup of tea (you can always add more sugar later). Please let me know how your Chai version turns out!!!

      January 18, 2011
  12. Dee Dee's Delights

    I would definally like to try this!

    January 17, 2011
  13. Kate @ Diethood.com

    mmmmm great flavors! That would be a yummy breakfast!

    I also love getting foodie gifts!! I get so excited! The other day I got a new mesh strainer and I was super excited … it’s not like I don’t have another 10 in my drawer, but still, I love it! 🙂

    January 17, 2011
  14. Shelby

    Well I for one want you to know that it was your TITLE that drew me in! Sounds awesome and if your endorsing it as a fellow foodie, then I will definitely try it-and I’ll try it tomorrow morning for breakfast! That is how good it sounds to me! ;o)

    January 17, 2011
  15. Sandra

    Oh wow..how interesting! Amazing combo that I never tried before!

    January 17, 2011
  16. Blackswan

    Thank u for lovely comments @ Luxury Indulgence!

    I love cooking with Tea too & have also posted a Tea recipe recently. Unfortunately, it’s Chilled Aromatic Earl Grey Pork Loin & it’s not vegetarian.

    I’ve not tried tea oatmeal but u made it sound sooooooo yummy! Looking fwd to more sharing & hope to see u dropping by more often 🙂

    January 17, 2011
    • griffito

      Thanks! I could try to do something with earl grey and tofu, for sure! Thanks for sharing!

      January 18, 2011
  17. Nikki

    My first thought was….this sounds awesome! It looks so creamy and delicious! I also bounced around like a dork when I received food gifts at Christmas. You’d think my new measuring spoon was made of solid gold, the way I held and snuggled it.

    January 17, 2011
  18. Cakewhiz

    Thai tea mix….hmmm…i am a big tea lover so i am surprised i have never tried that before. But, now i have to try this tea and also use it to make your oatmeal!

    January 17, 2011
  19. Sommer@ASpicyPerspective

    It sounds “dang” good to me! I’ll give it a whirl soon!

    January 17, 2011
  20. Kori

    What fun Christmas gifts! As a fellow foodie, I love that sort of present 🙂 Also, sounds like a fun twist on the usual bowl of oats…thanks for sharing!

    January 17, 2011
  21. Hester Casey - Alchemy

    I am a big fan of oatmeal. Thai tea mix is such a great way to ring the changes at breakfast time!

    January 17, 2011
  22. Nancy/SpicieFoodie

    I would be excited to try your Thai Tea oatmeal, you never know until you try it right? It sounds really good, all of the ingredients in it, and the color is cute. What lovely x-mas gifts you received, for sure it would have me jumping up and down too. Oh well I guess I’m also a nerdy foodie:)

    January 17, 2011
  23. briarrose

    What a creative way to make oatmeal. Love it!

    January 17, 2011
  24. torviewtoronto

    deliciously flavoured

    January 17, 2011
  25. Amy

    This sounds so incredibly good! It must be packed with good flavor! I can’t live without oatmeal ;)!

    January 18, 2011
  26. ping

    Veeerry innovative indeed! Wouldn’t have thought of putting tea in my oatmeal …. ever. I’m going to try it with Chai tea. Thanks!

    January 18, 2011
  27. Charlie

    I’m the biggest fan of tea, so I believe you when you say tea oatmeal is good ;).

    January 18, 2011
  28. griffito

    Thanks y’all!!!! It’s nice to have some validation from foodie friends that I wasn’t totally crazy when I thought this up! LOL!

    January 18, 2011
  29. Monet

    What a fun twist on your morning bowl of oatmeal! I love it. I also love the gifts you received for Christmas. It sounds exactly like what I would have wanted. Thank you for sharing with me! I hope you have a great Tuesday full of good food and love.

    January 18, 2011
  30. Sara

    I don’t like calling myself a foodie….but those are the same gifts I love receiving hehe. I’m in love with this Thai Tea Oatmeal. It sounds like everything I love! Thanks for sharing

    January 19, 2011
  31. Letizia

    This is SO creative!!! I am so curious to try this! The flavor combination is so original and sounds very good

    January 19, 2011
  32. denise @ quickies on the dinner table

    LOL – bet you anything I’m a bigger nerdy foodie than you are! I would’ve done exactly the same 😀

    I LOVE oatmeal (my family thinks I’m weird) but I have never thought of flavouring it in any way. This must have smelt amazing!! Thanks for the inspiration!

    January 20, 2011
  33. Sabrina Modelle

    Wow, this looks sooo yummy. I’ve never thought of tea flavored oats. I usually just add some pecans and maybe orange zest and maple syrup. Very creative.

    January 20, 2011
  34. Damaris

    I have never heard of Thai tea but I am seriously curious. I love oatmeal, I like to put coconut milk in mine. Fatty but so good.

    January 20, 2011
  35. Stella

    I love jazzing up oatmeal, the flavors feel indulgent but it’s still healthy as all get out. Thanks for this new idea, I love it!! Big fan of Thai Tea, so this is kinda a no-brainer. Now, would bruleeing it be too much? 🙂

    January 20, 2011
    • Tiffany

      Um, heck no! I think it sounds like a brilliant idea Stella! 🙂

      January 22, 2011