AI-generated image
Leung cha (Cantonese herbal tea)
涼茶: a dark, bitter brew of dried mesona, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle and prunella, sipped from a bowl to 'cool' the body
Across Guangdong and Hong Kong, the leung cha shop with its gleaming brass urns is a neighbourhood fixture. People drop in after a run of fried food, late nights or the heavy, humid weather of early summer, when Cantonese tradition says the body has too much 'heat', and down a bowl standing at the counter, then chase it with a dried plum. Brews range from the gentle 'five-flower tea' to fiercely bitter 24-herb mixes. This home version uses dried mesona (sin cho), prunella spike (ha fu cho), chrysanthemum and honeysuckle: dark brown, earthy and grassy, clearly bitter but rounded by the flowers and a little rock sugar. The common mistake is boiling everything together for an hour; the flowers turn harsh and muddy. Simmer the woody herbs first, add the flowers only for the last 10 minutes. It is ready when the liquor is the colour of strong tea and has reduced by about a third. It is traditionally drunk for comfort, not as medicine: skip it in pregnancy and check with a doctor if you take regular medication. Chef's tip: buy herbs pre-weighed as a packet from a Chinese herbalist, who will rinse-check them for grit and freshness.
- Total time
- 85 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Woody herbs
- 8 ¼ cups water
Flowers
- ⅓ oz dried lonicera flowers (gam ngan fa)Japanese honeysuckle, sold by Chinese herbalists
To finish
- 1 oz rock sugar (optional)or to taste; the shop version is unsweetened
- 4 salted dried plums or sweets (optional)to follow the tea
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 1 oz dried mesona (sin cho, grass jelly herb) and ⅔ oz dried prunella spike (ha fu cho) in a bowl of cold water and swish well; drain and repeat until the water runs clear of dust and grit.
5 minStep 2: Put the rinsed herbs in a large clay or stainless pot (not aluminium or iron) with the 8 ¼ cups water and bring to the boil over high heat.
10 minStep 3: Lower the heat, cover with the lid ajar and simmer gently for 50 minutes until the liquid is dark brown and reduced by about a quarter.
50 minStep 4: Rinse ⅓ oz dried chrysanthemum flowers and ⅓ oz dried lonicera flowers (gam ngan fa) briefly, add them to the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes; the brew should smell floral as well as earthy.
10 minStep 5: Stir in 1 oz rock sugar until dissolved, if using. Strain through a fine sieve into bowls; you should have about 1.2 litres.
3 minStep 6: Drink warm, slowly, and follow with a 4 salted dried plums or sweets if it is too bitter. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge; reheat gently.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 30 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does leung cha (Cantonese herbal tea) take?
- About 85 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Guava delight
A thick, fragrant blend of ripe guava, mango and banana, boosted with a spoonful of guava powder from the health shop. The book calls it a modern-day vitality drink, drawing on guava's long use in traditional Indian medicine. Serve it well chilled; sieve it if you don't like the little guava seeds.
Power pack
A sweet, energising juice of apples, pears and kiwi fruit with a stick of celery, all used unpeeled for extra goodness. It's naturally sweet, so it needs no sugar. Serve well chilled.
Horchata de chufa
Horchata de chufa is the drink of Valencia's summer, sold ice-cold in the city's horchaterías with long, soft fartons pastries for dipping. It is made from chufas, or tiger nuts: small wrinkled tubers grown around the village of Alboraya just north of Valencia, which have their own protected designation of origin. Soaked, ground with water, strained and sweetened, they give a creamy, nutty, naturally dairy-free milk with a hint of cinnamon. Valencians drink it very cold, or half-frozen as 'granizada'. Chef's tip: soak the tiger nuts for a full 24 hours and change the water once; they must be plump and soft enough to blend into a fine pulp, or the horchata will be thin and taste of raw starch.
Spanish