Plum-steeped cherry tomatoes with aged tangerine peel
Peeled cherry tomatoes steeped in a preserved plum and tangerine peel syrup — sweet, tangy, colourful little bites to lift the mood.
- 25 min
- Serves 3
- Marinate
- Easy
Why it suits you: Qi Stagnation brings low moods and a poor appetite, and the heat at Start of Summer adds irritability. Sweet-sour tomato generates fluids and calms the liver, tangerine peel moves qi and plum whets the appetite — bright, fragrant bites to lift the afternoon.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 5 min- 1Soak the tangerine peel until soft, scrape off the pith and shred it. Simmer with the plums, rock sugar and 250 ml of water for 5 minutes, then cool to make the steeping syrup.
- 2Hull the tomatoes and score a small cross in the base of each. Blanch in boiling water for 15–20 seconds, cool in cold water and slip off the skins.
- 3Put the tomatoes in a glass container, pour over the syrup, cover and steep in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- 4Take them out of the fridge 15 minutes before eating so they are not ice-cold, and pack a small box for an afternoon snack at work.
Cautions
- Preserved plums are salty and sugary: if you have high blood pressure or are watching your sugar, halve the plums and rock sugar.
Chef's tips
- Mix red and yellow cherry tomatoes for a prettier box; they keep for 3 days in the fridge.
The TCM view
Tomato is sweet, sour and slightly cold; it generates fluids, aids digestion and calms and cools the liver. Preserved plum is sour and sweet and whets the appetite. Aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm; it moves qi, wakes up digestion with its fragrance and balances the tomato's coolness. Sour with sweet eases pent-up tension without drying.
