Soap beans, silver ears and peach gum

Recipe | soap nut, longan and jujube tonic

Soap nuts with longan and red dates [Photo by Pauline D. Loh/China Daily]

Ingredients (serves 2):

20g soap nuts, soaked overnight to fully rehydrate

50g dried longan pulp

8-10 Chinese jujubes (dried red dates)

1 slice of ginger

Rock sugar to taste

Method:

1. Make sure that you soak the soap nuts long enough that they plump up well. Rinse and drain.

2. Wash and rinse the longan and red dates.

3. Place 800 ml of water in a saucepan and add the soap nuts, ginger, longan and red dates. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Add rock sugar to taste, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

5. Serve hot in winter, chilled in summer.