flipGinger tea with brown sugar (jiāng táng chá)
Ginger tea with brown sugar (jiāng táng chá)
Why this dish? In Chinese domestic tradition, ginger and brown sugar infusion is the home remedy for colds and winter evenings. A woman's and mother's drink, it had always accompanied Jiangnan households; Wu, attached to her culinary culture, would have made it as a gesture of care passed down.
A pungent and sweet infusion of fresh ginger simmered in water with brown sugar, sometimes enhanced with jujubes. Drunk piping hot to warm the body.
Pour les soirs où le froid s'installe, prenez ce simple bol de gingembre au sucre roux. On fait bouillir la racine tranchée jusqu'à ce que sa chaleur passe tout entière dans l'eau ; on devine que c'est prêt à l'odeur, qui pique le nez. Ma grand-mère le tenait pour un remède, et après tant d'années passées à mesurer le monde, je ne lui donnerais pas tort : un corps qui a chaud travaille mieux. Buvez-le brûlant, à petites gorgées.
- •Fresh ginger — a large piece (warming principle)
- •Brown sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Dried jujubes — a few (roundness, tonic)
- •Water — a pot (infusion)
Ginger tea with brown sugar (jiāng táng chá)
A pungent and sweet infusion of fresh ginger simmered in water with brown sugar, sometimes enhanced with jujubes. Drunk piping hot to warm the body.
Why this dish? In Chinese domestic tradition, ginger and brown sugar infusion is the home remedy for colds and winter evenings. A woman's and mother's drink, it had always accompanied Jiangnan households; Wu, attached to her culinary culture, would have made it as a gesture of care passed down.
Pour les soirs où le froid s'installe, prenez ce simple bol de gingembre au sucre roux. On fait bouillir la racine tranchée jusqu'à ce que sa chaleur passe tout entière dans l'eau ; on devine que c'est prêt à l'odeur, qui pique le nez. Ma grand-mère le tenait pour un remède, et après tant d'années passées à mesurer le monde, je ne lui donnerais pas tort : un corps qui a chaud travaille mieux. Buvez-le brûlant, à petites gorgées.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh ginger — a large piece (warming principle)
- Brown sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Dried jujubes — a few (roundness, tonic)
- Water — a pot (infusion)
Ingredients
- Fresh ginger — 40 g, sliced (heat, pungency)
- Brown sugar (raw or dark) — 2-3 tbsp (sweetness)
- Dried jujubes (Chinese red dates) — 4 (optional) (mild tonic)
- Water — 600 ml (infusion)
Method
- Slice the ginger thinly (no need to peel if well washed).
- Put the ginger, water, and split jujubes in a pot; bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is well flavored and pungent.
- Add the brown sugar, stir until dissolved, and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Strain and serve piping hot in a bowl or cup.
How it was made : Prepared on the corner of the stove, this infusion belongs to Chinese kitchen-medicine: ginger, considered 'warming', fought colds and winter ailments. The unrefined brown sugar provided both sweetness and, it was believed, restorative comfort.
The contemporary twist : Add a lemon zest and serve in a clear tea glass: a 'warming' infusion that is as much laboratory as kitchen.
Chien-Shiung Wu · Charactorium
