Recipes
Yuzu Mocktail
By Jenny Lee
Some time ago when Jenny Lee was throwing a birthday party, she hired a pop-up events company with a mobile bar. Not much into alcohol herself, she wanted a booze-free drink, something that had the flavor of yuzu fruit that’s native to Asia. Yuja tea, popular in Korea, is made by mixing hot water with yuja-cheong – preserved yuzu fruit with the consistency of marmalade. “I figured that if I just puree the yuzu tea, just really pulverize it, then I can just thin it out with some water and put it in a glass full of ice cubes, add sparkling water and then a splash of lemon juice. Because it’s very sweet. That turned out to be the mocktail.” She served it at her party, to much success and requests for the recipe.
Korean Citron tea is also known as Yuja cha. You can make the tea hot or cold and mix in the citron tea. Try this mocktail at summer parties.
Ingredients
Serves 1 Drink
1.1 pound (half a jar) Korean Citron tea, also known as Yuja cha
1 cup water
Sparking water as needed
Ice cubes
Splash of lemon juice
Instructions
Yuzu Puree:
Pour half a jar of Korean citron tea plus water into a small pot. Heat up until gently bubbling. Puree tea in a blender for two minutes. Heating up the tea makes it easier to pulverize the yuzu rinds into a smooth puree. Set aside to cool.
To make one drink:
Fill an old-fashioned or rocks glass with ice. Add 3 tablespoons of pureed citron tea. Fill glass with sparkling water. Add a splash of lemon juice. Mix. Enjoy!
Bio
Chef Jenny Lee is the owner of Kiuda, a pop-up restaurant serving Korean-American food in the Milwaukee area. The word Kiuda means nourish in Korean. The word also means to take care of kids, pets or plants. Lee cooked for James Beard award-winning chefs Justin Aprahamian of Sanford in Milwaukee, as well as Tom Colicchio and Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York City. Lee also teaches Korean cooking classes at recreation departments, the Milwaukee Public Market and privately in people's homes.
Jenny Lee
Kiuda
Jenny Lee
Kiuda