flipHot ginger and jujube decoction
Hot ginger and jujube decoction
Why this dish? The garrison nights in the North are freezing — the ballad mentions frost glinting on armor and bivouacs under the moon. This hot ginger drink, which warms the body from within, is the comfort of the chilled soldier that Mulan has become far from home.
A hot, sweet drink where fresh ginger infuses with sweet jujubes to warm the body. Comfort on cold evenings, at the frontier as at home.
When frost settled on our armor and the moon lit the camp, the cold seeped into the bones. Then I would boil ginger with a few jujubes, and clasp the burning bowl between my frozen hands. Drink slowly: the warmth descends into your chest and keeps you strong until morning. It is my people's remedy, the one my mother made when winter bit the house.
- •Fresh ginger — a good root (warming)
- •Dried jujubes (Chinese dates) — a handful (sweetness)
- •Honey — a drizzle (sweetener (optional))
- •Water — one bowl per person (infusion)
Hot ginger and jujube decoction
A hot, sweet drink where fresh ginger infuses with sweet jujubes to warm the body. Comfort on cold evenings, at the frontier as at home.
Why this dish? The garrison nights in the North are freezing — the ballad mentions frost glinting on armor and bivouacs under the moon. This hot ginger drink, which warms the body from within, is the comfort of the chilled soldier that Mulan has become far from home.
When frost settled on our armor and the moon lit the camp, the cold seeped into the bones. Then I would boil ginger with a few jujubes, and clasp the burning bowl between my frozen hands. Drink slowly: the warmth descends into your chest and keeps you strong until morning. It is my people's remedy, the one my mother made when winter bit the house.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh ginger — a good root (warming)
- Dried jujubes (Chinese dates) — a handful (sweetness)
- Honey — a drizzle (sweetener (optional))
- Water — one bowl per person (infusion)
Ingredients
- Fresh ginger — 40 g, sliced (warming)
- Dried jujubes (split) — 6 to 8 (sweetness)
- Honey — 1 tbsp (to taste) (sweetener)
- Water — 750 ml (infusion)
Method
- Put the sliced ginger and split jujubes in the water.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Strain (or leave the jujubes to eat with a spoon).
- Sweeten with a little honey off the heat, serve very hot.
How it was made : Ginger was used from ancient times in China for its warming properties, both in cooking and pharmacopoeia; it appears in the *Qimin Yaoshu* among cultivated aromatics. Jujube is associated with it as a mild tonic in Chinese medicinal tradition. Tea not yet being widespread in the North at that time, aromatic decoctions served as hot beverages.
The contemporary twist : Served in a mug with a floating ginger slice, it is the ideal comforting infusion for winter evenings — caffeine-free.
Sources : Jia Sixie, Qimin Yaoshu, c. 544 · Ballad of Mulan (Mulan Ci)
Mulan · Charactorium
