Sour plum drink with osmanthus
Smoked plums, hawthorn and roselle simmered into a ruby sour plum drink with a scatter of osmanthus — sweet-sour, thirst-quenching and best served chilled.
- 50 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: A yin-deficient constitution is prone to a dry mouth, hot palms and night sweats, and the heat of Grain in Ear makes thirst and irritability worse. Smoked plum's sour-sweet taste transforms into yin and generates fluids; hawthorn whets the appetite, roselle clears heat and osmanthus adds fragrance. Delicious without much sugar, and far healthier than fizzy drinks.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 40 min- 1Rinse the smoked plums, hawthorn, roselle and liquorice and soak in water for 30 minutes.
- 2Tip everything, including the soaking water, into a pot, top up with the rest of the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- 3Stir in the rock sugar until dissolved. Off the heat, scatter in the osmanthus, cover for 5 minutes, strain and cool, then chill before serving.
Cautions
- Drink less if you have excess stomach acid or ulcers; pregnant women should be cautious with hawthorn and roselle; keep the liquorice light, especially with high blood pressure.
Chef's tips
- Taste before chilling, as sweetness fades when cold. Make a big batch; it keeps for two to three days in the fridge.
The TCM view
Smoked plum is sour, astringent and neutral, generating fluids and quenching thirst. Hawthorn is sour, sweet and slightly warm, aiding digestion and dispersing stasis. Roselle is sour and cold, clearing heat and relieving summer heat. Liquorice harmonises, rock sugar moistens the lungs, and osmanthus is pungent, warm and aromatic, awakening the spleen. Sour and sweet together transform into yin, ideal for generating fluids in summer.
