Major Heat · Tea break · Phlegm-Dampness
Winter melon, adzuki bean & tangerine peel drink
Winter melon simmered skin, seeds and all with adzuki beans — light, sugar-free and refreshing when the air feels heavy.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
NeutralDrains dampClears phlegm
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness brings a heavy body, sluggishness and a dread of muggy weather, and Major Heat's damp leaves the head foggy. Winter melon and adzuki beans drain damp, tangerine peel clears phlegm, and a warm, sugar-free drink won't add to the dampness.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 60 min- 1Rinse the adzuki beans and soak for 2 hours, or overnight. Soak the tangerine peel until soft and scrape off the white pith.
- 2Wash the winter melon and cut it into large chunks, keeping the skin and seeds.
- 3Bring the water to the boil, add the beans, tangerine peel and ginger, then simmer on medium-low for 40 minutes.
- 4Add the winter melon and simmer 20 minutes more until translucent. No sugar needed — pour into a flask and sip like tea.
Cautions
- Strongly diuretic — don't make it a daily drink if you are thin, often thirsty or pass urine frequently.
Chef's tips
- Use the slim adzuki beans from herbal shops, not the round red beans used for red bean soup.
The TCM view
Winter melon is sweet, bland and slightly cold; it drains water and clears summer heat, and the skin and seeds strengthen this. Adzuki beans are sweet, sour and neutral and drain damp. Tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, moving qi and drying damp; ginger warms the stomach, balancing the melon's coolness.
