Perilla and dried plum tea
Fresh perilla leaves and two dried plums steeped into a sweet-sour, fragrant tea — sip a cup when your chest feels tight and your appetite has gone.
- 15 min
- Serves 2
- Steep
- Easy
Why it suits you: Qi-stagnant types are prone to low moods and a tight chest, and Minor Heat's close, muggy air makes them more irritable and off their food. Fragrant perilla moves qi, eases the chest and settles the stomach; sweet-sour dried plums generate fluids and whet the appetite, and tangerine peel regulates qi. Perilla is easy to find in wet markets, so a whole pot costs next to nothing.
Method
Prep 5 min · Cook 10 min- 1Wash and pat dry the perilla leaves, and give the plums and tangerine peel a quick rinse.
- 2Put everything in a teapot, pour over the boiling water, cover and steep for 10 minutes.
- 3Pour, let it cool to warm, sweeten with honey if you like and sip slowly.
Cautions
- Dried plums are salty, so use just one if you have high blood pressure; perilla is dispersing, so don't overdo it if you sweat a lot or are qi-deficient.
Chef's tips
- Pick perilla with purple-red undersides and a strong scent; unsweetened smoked plums (wu mei) give a cleaner sourness.
The TCM view
Perilla leaf is pungent and warm, moving qi, easing the middle and settling the stomach, and also releasing the exterior. Dried plum is sour and sweet, generating fluids and whetting the appetite; tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, regulating qi and strengthening the spleen. Aromatic, dispersing perilla with sour-sweet plum moves qi without harming yin — ideal for stagnant qi with a tight chest and poor appetite in summer.
