Introduction:What if beverages weren’t just for drinking but could also become the soul of cooking? Recently, netizens have sparked a creative trend of using freshly made drinks—like Mixue’s "Pounded Fresh Orange" and "Iced Fresh Lemonade"—as ingredients in dishes. From braised pork ribs to steamed buns, the experimental results are both surprising and amusing. This article will delve into the practical details, flavor feedback, and techniques behind this wave of the "Snow King Cuisine," showing you which drinks are truly suitable for cooking and how to skillfully use them to elevate home-cooked dishes.
Using beverages in cooking may sound like a whimsical idea, but it’s actually nothing new. Classic dishes like cola chicken wings have long used cola as a key seasoning to create a popular family recipe. Nowadays, this creative trend has extended from canned drinks to freshly made beverages, with one brand in particular—Mixue—becoming the star of this "beverages in the kitchen" movement.
On social media platforms, a short video with tens of thousands of likes sparked heated discussion. In the video, a creative chef adds nearly a full cup of Mixue’s popular "Pounded Fresh Orange" to the cooking process of pork ribs. The resulting dish not only has an enticing color but also boasts a refreshing citrus aroma. The creator noted that the taste was actually quite good and humorously declared, "I support Mixue in the kitchen," instantly igniting a wave of imitation among netizens.
This video later inspired a flurry of secondary creations, with netizens unleashing their creativity by developing unexpected dishes using various Mixue beverages: "Iced Fresh Lemonade" was used as a substitute for the traditional base in marinated seafood, with its crisp acidity perfectly complementing the sweetness of the seafood; "sundaes" were crushed and mixed into egg batter to bake DIY egg tarts with a milky and sweet flavor; and the "Passion Fruit Lemonade" drink was added to the broth of spicy beef soup, adding more layers of flavor.
Among these, the most creative was a netizen who mixed "Four Seasons Spring Milk Tea" with flour, kneaded it into dough, and steamed it into a unique milk tea steamed bun. This dessert looked no different from a regular bun, but one bite revealed the rich creaminess of milk tea and the lingering sweetness of tea leaves, leaving everyone amazed. These creative recipes spread widely on social media, and the hashtag "I support Snow King in the kitchen" even became a trending topic, giving rise to a variety of experimental recipes jokingly referred to as the new generation of "Mixue Cuisine."
Interestingly, this trend also caught the attention of Mixue’s official team. The brand not only responded positively in the comment sections of some creators’ posts, praising them for being "skillful and fun," but even reposted some videos to its official account with playful captions like "I’m Snow King, and I support Mixue in the kitchen!" engaging enthusiastically with fans.
Although these creative dishes may seem humorous or quirky, from a cooking logic perspective, using ready-made beverages as seasonings or ingredients is not entirely unfeasible. Many home-cooked dishes already incorporate store-bought sauces, juices, or carbonated drinks to enhance flavor—for example, sweet and sour pork ribs often use ketchup for color or cola to bring out a sweet and tangy taste. Therefore, using Mixue beverages like "Iced Fresh Lemonade" as a base for seafood marinades or incorporating "Four Seasons Spring Milk Tea" into dough for added aroma is not fundamentally different from using ready-made seasonings, and it can even save the trouble of making syrups or spice blends from scratch.
However, many netizens and professional chefs have also offered practical advice and precautions. First, ready-made beverages often contain not only visible juice, milk, or water but also additives such as syrups, emulsifiers, and flavorings. These ingredients may affect the final flavor balance of the dish and may even raise concerns among consumers who prefer natural ingredients. For instance, using high-sugar drinks like milk tea as seasonings may make the overall dish overly sweet and greasy, so the proportions need to be carefully adjusted.
Additionally, some cost-conscious netizens have pointed out that instead of buying a fruit tea or milk tea costing around 10 yuan specifically for cooking, it’s better to use plain sugar, lemon juice, or homemade sugar syrup. Not only is this more economical, but it also allows for personalized flavor adjustments. Especially for frequent cooks, controlling sugar levels and flavor layers is crucial, so beginners are advised to start by testing small amounts of the beverage and gradually tweak the recipe.
In summary, this wave of the "Mixue Beverages in the Kitchen" creative trend, while entertaining, has also inspired many people’s ideas about cooking seasonings and ingredient applications. Whether you’re looking for a fresh way to cook or are simply curious to challenge your taste buds, you can draw inspiration from these tested recipes shared by netizens. With the right ingredient ratios and cooking techniques, these "beverage-based dishes" might just become the new stars of your dining table.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
