
What is green, steamy, and chalked full of nuts?
Well, if you’re a decendent of the Hakkas ethnic group, this riddle is not much of a challenge for you. But for the rest of you, let me introduce you to Thunder Tea Rice.
What is it? Check it out.. I’m paraphrasing from various sources… but the story goes something like this…
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there were these people (known as the Hakkas). War and strife was rampant in Northern China and the Hakkas were not having ANY of it. So they packed up their stuff, and hit the road. (Author’s note: I wonder if any of them were named Jack, because then they could sing “hit the road, jack.. and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more…” – but sadly that song wasn’t written yet)
Anyway, so the legend goes, these people got hungry. And, you know, when you’re an entire ethnic group on the road, you’re not exactly pulling the bus into McDonalds. They INVENTED food. Can you believe that? I mean, they opened up the ancient pantry, and INVENTED SOMETHING!
Here’s pretty much an exact recount of how that whole thing went down…
Tribal guy #1: I’m starving. Do we have anything to eat around here?
Tribal guy #2: Umm… well, we got some grains here.
Tribal guy #3: Yeah, I see some soybeans and nuts here too.
Tribal guy #4: Ooo ooo, I think I see some lentils here.
Tribal guy #1: Well, mash it up, and let’s go already!
And thus was born Lei Cha.
Since the people found it impossible to heat water, Lei Cha became a tailor-made product for the tribe-on-the-go. These guys ended up loving this stuff so much, that when they finally got to where they were going, they heated up water, made green tea, and poured it into a bowl with the mashed up contents and yumminess found it’s roots.
FAST FORWARD TO A FEW DAYS AGO
I have had this dish, and it is yummy.
January 17th, 2010 | Tags: business school, food, INSEAD, MBA, Singapore | Category: INSEAD, Uncategorized | Leave a comment