Salted Butter Tea with Toasted Barley Pinch-Dough

Dark tea whisked with salted butter and milk into a creamy highland brew, served beside fragrant toasted-barley pinch-dough. It echoes Bricks Bound for the Pass, where Tea Horse Road caravans hauled compressed leaf as currency toward the plateau.

Serves 2

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Ingredients

• 3 tbsp loose dark tea (pu-erh or similar)
• 4 cups water
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. 1In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pearl barley until fragrant and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. 2Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, add the dark tea, and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the tea into a large bowl or churn, discarding the leaves.
3. 3Add the butter, salt, and milk to the hot tea. Whisk vigorously or use an immersion blender until a creamy emulsion forms.
4. 4Mix toasted barley with the flour and milk to form a stiff dough. Pinch off small pieces, flatten slightly, and dry-roast them in the same skillet until golden on both sides.
5. 5Serve the hot salted butter tea in bowls alongside the warm toasted barley pinch-dough.