Today, two days prior to our trip to Hong Kong, I noticed that I still had about half a pound of fresh ginger sitting on the kitchen counter. It was too good to toss, and too much to use in two nights of cooking. But what about mixing into a beverage?

Winter, after all, is also known as cold season. Temps have dipped even lower in the past few days, and I have been feeling a bit under the weather. Since ginger supposedly rids your body of heat and wards off colds, the Chinese make liberal use of ginger in soups this time of the year. Well, tonight I was in the mood for a sweet beverage instead of soup. So I got out my brand new blender to make a hot, frothy ginger milk tea.

With a little kick and a lot of warmth, the ginger tea is a strong candidate to join the ranks of hot chocolate and chamomile in the Comfort Drinks canon. Especially on a blistery -4 degrees C winter night.

Ginger Milk Tea
Adapted from Gourmet

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups (840 mL) hot water
4 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons loose black tea leaves
1/2 cup (120 mL) milk
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

Bring the water and ginger to a boil in a small pot. Once it is boiling, turn off the heat. Stir in tea and cover. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and sugar, and add more sugar if needed to suit your tastebuds. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large (6-cup) blender, discarding the solids. Blend the mixture until foamy (use caution when blending hot liquids), then pour into mugs. Serve immediately.