♪ >> A thousand years ago, donkeys, each carrying 100 pounds of tea, trekking this winding path, this is part of the Ancient Tea Road, outside of Chengdu.

Historians also called this the Southern Silk Road, a vital trade route that opened Western China to India, the Middle East, and beyond.

For all the tea in Chengdu, next on "Yan Can Cook."

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♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ >> Tea has been cultivated in southwestern part of China since the Shang dynasty almost 3,000 years ago.

Early Chinese legend credit tea drinking to Emperor Shen Nung who was drinking a cup of hot water when leaves from a nearby tree accidentally fell into his cup.

Tea began as a medicinal concoction, then a daily libation consumed by emperors, poets, everyday people.

Classical philosopher Lao Tzu called tea the elixir of life.

Tang dynasty scholar Lu Yu wrote a whole book on tea called "Chajing," which is "Tea Bible," which, to this day, is still hailed as the most scholarly treatment of the subject.

Marco Polo wrote about tea in his journal, but it was not until the 16th and 17th century that the Portuguese and the Dutch traders brought tea to Europe.

It reaches Tibet, India, and the Middle East much earlier, traveling on this slippery, dangerous Tea Road.

♪ Much of the tea produced near Chengdu is unfermented green tea.

The rich soil and humid weather makes growing condition very ideal.

When green tea is naturally fermented, it acquires a more robust flavor and it becomes black tea.

Chef Fung... Golden crispy spare-rib flavor with tea, simple dish.

Look at all this tea plantation.

We're picking tea right over there.

The spare rib is poached with tea until they're nice and cooked, and you can tell it's cooked.

Oil has to be very hot for deep frying, but not smoking.

Now this is -- This rib is poached in tea until they are basically cooked and coated with flour or cornstarch.

When you put it in, don't dump it in.

Don't slam dunk.

Very dangerous.

Hot oil.

And then the tea, beautiful tea like this, soak it in water until softened.

Remove the liquid, then you have tea leaves, very dry.

Squeeze the water out.

Squeeze the water.

Look at this.

Huh?

Fry it 360 degree and not more than 375 degree until they're nice and golden-brown.

Drain the oil until golden-brown, crisp, golden crisp.

Golden leaves, look at the difference.

Toss, and then... >> [ Speaks Mandarin ] >> Then toss it in.

Plate it nicely.

Then put the toppings and sprinkle around top, right on top of the ribs.

This is a classic signature dish of Chef Fung's restaurant, so this is the final dish.

It is classic.

It's simple.

Everybody can do it, but you got to have the right tea, right here in Pujiang in Chengdu.

Crispy, aromatic, and it's golden-brown.

Look at that.

Look at it, beautiful leaves, three leaves.

Mm.

Crispy spare ribs with golden fried tea leaf.

Ah.

Everything about a cup of tea puts me in a calm and relaxing mood.

Maybe it is the aroma -- ah -- or the warmth or the taste or maybe and mostly psychological.

Just the sight of a cup will do the trick, every time.

We all have our comfort food when we were growing up, and one of my favorite was silky egg custard prepared by my mom.

By adding green tea, I make it into my grown-up version of the egg custard that I would like to show you and my guests, Joe and Jenna Lynn.

We normally, in America or many parts of the world, use egg.

You know what kind of egg is this?

Duck egg.

Now salted duck egg, thousand-year-old egg, all made with this.

Oh, I'm going to use two of these duck eggs, and then -- okay.

Now look at this.

This is -- Look.

Big, big, huge yolk.

Okay?

I'm going to beat it up and blend it.

Okay?

Now, of course, you can use the chopstick to do it.

It takes about five times longer.

And this is done.

And I'm going to bring some milk mixed with water to a boil... ...and then put some green tea, just enough to infuse the flavor.

In the meantime, I'm going to filter this and make sure they're nice and clean.

I don't want the foam.

Perfect.

And then, in the meantime, this is done.

I'll take it out, still a little warm, so I'm going to let it cool down a little bit, and then I'll do the shrimp.

Now here is the shrimp.

You can use scallop.

I butterfly this like this.

I butterfly this, open it up.

When this is done, I get four of these ramekin.

Beautiful, cute.

I don't want to make it too big.

If it's too big, it kind of stuffing, and this is just like an appetizer, a side dish.

Very slow.

Very, very slow.

And then put it in.

Just the right amount.

Just the right amount.

Green tea is a healthy beverage.

Pepper, just sprinkle.

Just sprinkle.

A tiny, tiny bit of salt.

And then put this like this.

Put it inside and tuck it in.

Like this, sticking out.

And then you take it over here and let it steam.

One, two.

And then cover it up and let it steam for just a few minutes.

While I'm steaming this -- it's almost ready.

Takes only about 7 minutes.

I'm going to make the sauce.

The sauce is, again, green-tea sauce.

Look at that.

Broth -- green-tea-infused.

Okay?

Okay?

This is it, and a tiny bit of pepper and a tiny bit of salt, and then I mix them all up and make a special sauce.

So everything we do today in this particular dish is green tea.

Now, I think this is done.

I will shut this off, and, oh, look at this, and then I will take this out very nicely.

Whew!

Look at how cute.

See this?

This is a really handy tool.

Okay?

I thicken this up with cornstarch.

And I thicken this.

Also, when you mix it, make sure you stir it.

Beautiful.

Now shut it off, and then put in a tiny bit of clear green tea, extra flavor, extra flavor.

It is so beautiful.

A tiny bit of deep-fried green-tea leaf, put it right here on the side, on the side, just enough.

Enjoy.

>> Thank you.

>> And enjoy your tea, the green tea, along with it.

Now, here, I'm going to show you how easy it is to do another wonderful dessert with green tea.

Here, I have some yogurt.

I slice this beautiful... Beautiful.

Very, very thin slices like this, okay?

Very thin slices, and I put this right over here.

So this way, it look beautiful.

Okay?

And I set aside, and I go... And then I sprinkle some of these right on the bottom.

Okay?

Right on the bottom.

And then, in the meantime, I will put a tiny bit of yogurt.

Okay?

Yogurt with green tea infused into it.

A tiny bit of yogurt.

Tiny bit of green tea -- very cooled-down green tea with some tea leaves, still nice and cold.

This is very healthy.

Then I put this yogurt right over here.

Okay?

And then I put a tiny bit of, once again, green-tea leaf right on top.

Look at how cute this is.

Look at that.

Green-tea yogurt with kiwi.

>> Beautiful.

>> Enjoy.

Now, what would go perfectly with all these dishes?

Take a wild guess.

A cup of tea, of course, or maybe two.

A cup of tea may not solve all the world's problem, but it is a good start.

Cheer for the cup of tea.

♪ Tea works wonders in a cup, but it can also be magic in a dish.

In Chinese cooking, we use tea as a smoking agent or simply add it to any dish as an ingredient.

Mm.

Exquisite.

We have it on the bun, green-tea cookies, a citrus custard.

This is the key ingredient, tea.

That's why I said tea.

All the teas in the world, it's right here.

[ Speaks Mandarin ] Green or black, here, all the premium tea leaves are handpicked.

Most green teas are picked in the spring, while black teas are generally harvested in the summer and go through fermentation for the rest of the year.

♪ ♪ In this growing tea region, local children are taught from an early age all about tea cultivation.

It's part of the culture, their way of life.

>> "Yan Can Cook: Chengdu..." >> Yay!

[ Applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ Conversing in Mandarin ] >> Chengdu is famous for its hot pot.

Chengdu is also famous for its tea.

It didn't take long before someone came out with our next invention, tea hot pot.

Look at this.

Tea hot pot, why, there is a tea bag right here, no fat, no chili, just tea bag.

Smells so good.

Mm.

[ Speaks Mandarin ] ♪ ♪ When I travel, my favorite souvenir is always a tea set.

One of these days, I may donate all of these to a museum, or maybe by then I will have enough to open my open tea museum.

Why tea?

Sharing a cup of tea with a new friend is a great memory, and it's often the highlight of my travel.

All these tea sets remind me of all the wonderful people that I have met and what a fortunate life I have led.

♪ Long before European sidewalk cafés, our tea houses flourished all over China.

A tea house is an ideal place for people to take a little break from the hustle and bustle of their life, to meet up with friends or family or just to contemplate in solitude, all over one cup of tea or two.

In this case, maybe just one cup.

This classic tea garden is over 100 years old.

It is the oldest existing tea house in the city.

Generations of Chengdu residents have sat on these chairs.

Many patrons here come with their children and grandchildren.

As they sip their jasmine tea, they remember the days when they were brought here by their parents and grandparents.

This is truly a fine Chengdu tradition.

[ Speaks Mandarin ] I've never seen anything like this.

They call this stove the tiger's stove.

It can heat up a whole bunch of kettles all at the same time.

There's never a shortage of hot water in this place.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ Speaks Mandarin ] Mm.

[ Speaks Mandarin ] Delicious.

Tea has a calming effect.

I don't know about you, but I'm already very relaxed just by watching her.

Obviously, not all the teas are alike.

They don't taste alike.

They don't look alike.

Here is what I mean.

Look at all of these.

Green tea is unfermented.

It is picked, cleaned, roasted, cut, and packaged.

Fermentation is actually an oxidation process.

It brings on a richer taste, fuller body and rich color over a period of time.

Interesting enough, it also lowers the caffeine level.

It is a common mistake to assume that fermented tea is higher in caffeine content.

Now, most people drink tea out of a glass or just a little cup.

You know what?

The classic Chinese tea cup is made up of three parts.

The lid represent heaven above.

The saucer represent the earth below, and the cup represent human being.

A cup of tea is truly nature in harmony.

♪ Mm.

You know what?

The best part is the taste of tea.

♪ Here in Chengdu, when tea is served, you do get a little sample of snacks, like sunflower seed and some sweet and savory pastries, and here is something you don't get in a Cantonese tea house -- a show.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ Applause ] [ Chuckles ] [ Speaking Mandarin ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Ah.

A simple cup of tea, it quenches your thirst.

It calms your nerves.

It's the elixir of life and the building blocks of empires.

It inspire poetries and bridges cultural barriers, all inside this simple cup.

♪ Ah.

>> You can visit our website to learn more about Martin and his travels, get information about upcoming events, find and print selected recipes, provide e-mail feedback, and more.

It's all at yancancook.com.

"Yan Can Cook: Spice Kingdom" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Lutian.

Tasting the essence of lotus.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ ♪