Longan & old ginger tea with poached eggs
A warming Cantonese egg tea — longan, red dates and old ginger simmered into a light syrup, with a softly poached egg in each bowl.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Boil
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang Deficiency means feeling the cold, and hours in summer air-conditioning leave hands and feet icy. Warming longan, ginger and slab sugar warm you through and support the heart and spleen, and the egg makes it filling — a warm alternative to an iced drink.
Method
Prep 5 min · Cook 25 min- 1Rinse the longan and red dates. Slice the ginger, skin on, and bruise it with the back of a knife.
- 2Bring the water, ginger, red dates and longan to the boil, then simmer gently for 15 minutes until the tea turns amber and gingery.
- 3Dissolve the sugar in it. Turn the heat to its lowest, crack each egg into a small bowl and slide it gently into the tea — don't stir.
- 4Keep at a bare simmer for 4–5 minutes until the whites set (2 minutes more for a firm yolk), then serve hot.
Cautions
- Skip it with a sore throat, mouth ulcers, a cold or a fever — longan is heating.
Chef's tips
- Cut the sugar to 10 g if you like; the longan and red dates are naturally sweet.
The TCM view
Longan is sweet and warm, nourishing the heart, spleen and blood and calming the spirit. Old ginger is pungent and warm and dispels cold. Red dates and slab sugar are sweet and warm and support the middle; egg is sweet and neutral and nourishes blood and yin, so the bowl warms without drying. Summer belongs to the heart, and longan reaches the heart and spleen.
