Hyacinth bean, Chinese yam and tangerine peel drink
Toasted hyacinth beans simmered with dried Chinese yam and aged tangerine peel into a fragrant, faintly sweet drink that strengthens digestion and clears damp — perfect sipped like tea.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Though the summer heat is fading at End of Heat, the damp lingers, and a Phlegm-Damp constitution tends to feel heavy, phlegmy, off its food and sluggish in the bowels. Toasting hyacinth beans boosts their power to strengthen the spleen and resolve damp, Chinese yam supports the spleen and tangerine peel moves qi and clears phlegm — a light drink that won't sit heavy.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 60 min- 1Dry-toast the hyacinth beans in a wok over low heat for 5 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant. Rinse the yam and peel, and scrape the pith off the peel.
- 2Put everything in a pot with the water, bring to the boil, then simmer for 50 minutes.
- 3Strain and drink like tea, spread over two or three servings through the day.
Cautions
- Always simmer hyacinth beans long enough to cook through, as raw beans contain natural toxins.
Chef's tips
- Toast a week's worth of beans at once and keep them in an airtight jar.
The TCM view
Hyacinth beans are sweet and slightly warm; toasted, they strengthen the spleen, resolve damp and ease loose stools. Chinese yam is sweet and neutral, nourishing the spleen, stomach and lungs; tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, regulating qi, drying damp and transforming phlegm. Together they strengthen digestion without heaviness and resolve damp without drying — suited to Phlegm-Damp at the turn of the season.
