If you have been following me along on Instagram, you'll probably already know that I love me some THAI TEA! I first discovered my love for this yummy drink back home on Guam where I used to have it at my favorite local Thai restaurants - Ban Thai and Chaopraya Thai Cuisine. I am obsessed with Thai food, so I've learned to make many Thai dishes while away from home. I love to make Panang Curry, Tom Yum Kung (hot and sour shrimp soup), Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut soup), and Pad Thai (stir-fried noodles). As you can tell, Thai food has my heart (and tummy).

Naturally, Thai tea is also on the menu because, who says I can only have Thai tea once in a blue moon! Once I learned just how easy it was to make this creamy and delicious slice of heaven at home, my life was made. Needless to say, I've been hooked ever since! Now, whenever the craving calls (which is quite often), I just whip some up in no time and have my fix without every having to set foot into a Thai restaurant. Let me teach you just how simple it is to make!

For the record, homemade Thai tea tastes nothing like the can or jar variety you see in stores. It tastes a zillion time better. Not even kidding about the zillion part! As they always say, fresh is best! My favorite part about making Thai tea is mixing it. I feel like an artist every time I stir the tea in with the cream. It's one of those satisfying moments where my eyes light up and I'm debating whether I'd rather stare at it or drink it. Of course, that doesn't last too long. Drinking it sounds waaaaaay better! Anyway - as if you needed any more convincing from me that you need to make this delicious concoction! Let's get into the recipe, shall we!

To make this deliciously legal drink, you'll need Thai tea mix, which I was able to find in my local Asian store in Oklahoma City, Super Cao Nguyen. It is also available online, which may be a much easier option for you. Here's the Thai tea mix that I use. You'll also need the basics: sugar, water, ice, and half and half. I prefer not to use sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk for my Thai tea, but if you'd like to go the traditional route, that's totally up to you! I also love to use almond milk, but I've discovered that half and half tastes way better.  

So, what you'll need to do first is add 2 cups of water to a small saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil. Since this is a loose leaf tea, you'll need to use a strainer. I poured the boiling water into my glass jar (that has a strainer lid) and then added in 2 tablespoons of the loose leaf tea. I let it steep for 3 minutes or until it develops a deep color. I take a separate jar and pour the strained Thai tea into it so that the tea doesn't continue to steep. Now I add 5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar, which quickly dissolves since the tea is still hot. After this, it is preferable to let the tea cool first before you use it, but since I am impatient, I always skip this step.

Now, for the fun part! Fill your cup full of ice, then pour in 1/2 a cup of the Thai tea. Next, pour in 1/4 cup of the half and half. The ice will water it down a bit, so that's why we added a lot of sugar to the tea so it balances out. Stir stir stir, and enjoy to your heart's content! Take the leftover Thai tea that you made earlier and store it in the refrigerator for when you're feeling like having a quick fix. It will be enough to serve you 2 more drinks! 

Creamy Thai Tea Recipe

Author: Stina Abion | Hello Lovely Living

Published October 18, 2016

Servings: 3 servings

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Thai tea mix
• 2 cups water
• 5-6 Tbsp sugar
• 1-2 cups ice
• 1/4 cup half and half

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a rolling boil. Pour water over thai tea mix and steep for 3 minutes.
2. Strain and pour the tea into a separate jar, then add the sugar. Mix well until dissolved.
3. Fill your serving cup with ice, then pour in 1/2 cup of thai tea, then 1/4 cup of half and half. Stir and enjoy! Save remaining tea for later. Makes 2 more servings.

Notes

• You can also substitute the half and half for your milk of choice, or for the traditional version, condesnsed milk and evaporated milk.
• I use organic half and half and organic raw sugar for the best quality and taste.

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I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Be prepared to get addicted to it if and when you try it! It's one of those things that went from Thai Tea Tuesday to Thai Tea Every day for me. 

Will you be trying out this recipe? If you do, I'd love to see your photos! Go on, tag me in your photos on Instagram using #hellolovelyliving and @hellolovelyliving so I can get all heart eyes on your photos + share them so others can do the same! 

Disclusure: Affiliate links are used in this post.

So, I've been on this royal milk tea binge lately and I found myself asking my hubby to take me to get some almost every day - that and pho. There's a time to get addicted to pho, and my time is NOW. Thankfully, that has died down, but my milk tea cravings continue. I decided: Why not just make that extra effort and make royal milk tea at home? It can't be that hard, right? I mean, isn't it just a ton of sugar, milk, and tea? Come to find out, it is. I'm sure the boba shop ones have some syruppy thing in it, but homemade is always better - less chemicals and mystery ingredients.  

Now, if you try my recipe, you will discover how extremely simple and easy it is to make this yourself, and then you'll kick yourself in the butt for all of those times you paid $3-6 for 8 oz of milk tea, only to find out it was mostly ice. Plus, your tummy won't spontaneously freak out on you and react to whatever dairy they used (true story). All of the ingredients are simple enough to find at any grocery store, and the boba pearls can be found at asian markets or online. Don't forget your wide straws too! That's the best part.

So, does it taste like the real thing? It's not as sweet, but that's how you know you're not killing yourself with every sip - you can control the amount of sugar you put in. I find it a pretty good substitute, and saving money is always my favorite thing to do, especially when it comes to eating out.

Let me show you just how simple this recipe is! 

Royal Milk Tea with Boba

Author: Stina Abion

Published August 11, 2015

Servings: 2

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup tapioca pearls "boba"
• 2 cups water
• 2 organic black tea (2g bags x 2)
• 1 cup organic milk
• 5 Tbsp turbinado sugar
• ice
• boba straws

Instructions

1. First cook boba by placing 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and bringing to a rapid boil. I purchased the boba that cooks in 5 minutes. Boil for 5 minutes or until soft and remove from heat.
2. In a small saucepan, boil 1 cup of water. Once it comes to a rolling boil, place tea bags in and let boil for 4 minutes. Remove tea bags, then add milk and sugar. Once it starts to simmer, remove from heat.
3. Prepare a cup of ice and pour the milk tea over to rapidly cool. In another cup, add boba and fill halfway with ice, then pour the chilled milked tea over. Do this twice since you will have two servings. Share with someone special and enjoy!

Notes

• The ice will water the milk tea down, so that is why I increased the sugar. You can always cool it completely first and add less sugar.
• Try using other teas like Assam Black Tea.

My Ingredients

View fullsize

View fullsize

Wufuyuan - Tapioca Pearl (Black) - Net Wt. 8.8 Oz. Buy on Amazon

Choice Organic Black Tea, 16 Count Box Buy on Amazon

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I hope you get to try my recipe! Again, I used 5 minute boba to make it quicker to prepare. There's no difference in taste either - and just as addicting as the real stuff. Let's be addicted together! <3

Are you addicted to milk tea too? Share with me in the comments what your favorite flavors are. 

At my house, I always like to make diverse recipes from different cuisines and cultures. Tonight it just happened to be Vietnamese. I basically love all asian foods and dream to someday travel to Asia and delve into the street food scene where I could really taste the authentic stuff straight from the locals while experiencing all the sights and sounds around me. 

I stumbled upon making this recipe by what I remember this dish tasting like back home on Guam. Where I'm from, it's a melting pot of all types of cuisine, so I had the pleasure of enjoying so much of it and being so spoiled! Now that I am in the mainland, it's harder to come by those tastes that I was so used to back home. I've had to learn how to make the dishes that I love, so I am grateful that there are a few asian markets here where I can find almost anything I need.

Lemongrass Chicken can be found at most Vietnamese and/or asian restaurants. The lemongrass gives it a beautiful aroma and mild taste. The star here, though, is the red pepper powder. It has a mild taste, so you can easily control the heat. Korean pepper powder can be found at most asian markets, but make sure to purchase the right one, as there are different types available that look the same, but aren't. I include links below to the asian ingredients that you may not find locally. Let's get started!

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Lemongrass Chicken

Author: Hello Lovely Living

Published April 28, 2015

Servings: 3

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 3 chicken thighs (bone and skin removed)
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 3 stalks lemongrass
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1-2 tsp Korean red pepper powder
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Chop chicken thighs into 1"x 1" cubes. Cut lemongrass at a diagonal into 2" pieces.
2. On medium high heat, in a wok, add olive oil and lemongrass and saute until arromatic and slightly browned.
3. Add chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the chicken cook without constantly turning it, so it can get nicely browned, about 5 minutes on each side before flipping. Do this for each side until all sides are nicely browned and carmelized.
4. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes, then add fish sauce and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Add red pepper powder and stir to evenly coat the chicken. Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Turn off heat and sprinkle green onions on top and combine.
7. Enjoy with steamed, whit rice.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

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Easy, huh? This recipe can be whipped up in no time and tastes just like restaurant quality. If you like things on the spicier side, just add more pepper powder. I hope you can try it out! 

xo stina