Skip to main content

Chrysanthemum Cooling Tea

Ipoh, besides boasting of its white, fatty beansprouts and smooth, soft Hor fun/Kway Teow used to be famous for its 'Leong Char' aka 'Cooling Tea'.  Actually, not so much the 'leong char',  but for the 'leong char mui' meaning 'cooling tea maiden'.

Back in the late '60's and early '70's there were many of these stalls set up by the roadside at night and they were manned by those pretty maidens, well you can say 'pretty maidens in a row'.  There was a great variety of cooling tea to choose from, 'loh hon kor', winter melon, sugar cane, chrysanthemum, not forgetting the very bitter, black as coffee, king of 'leong char', 'Wong Low Kat' , just to name a few.  They were cheap, those days, ranging from 20 to 50 sen per glass.

I remember that my mum used to make this concotion of 'Wong Low Kat' at least once a month and more frequently if the weather was unduly hot and dry.  Then me and my siblings were each 'served' with a rice bowl of this black stuff and a small tiny packet of sweet plum, 'Chan Pei Mui' as a sweetener.  My mum would then be hovering behind our backs with a cane in her hand.
We had a choice though, either we gulp down the black stuff all at one go and quickly toss the sweet plum into our mouths or slowly sip the black stuff and 'enjoy' the bitter taste........... delay tactics, and bite the sweet plum at intervals.  Whatever it is, she made doubly sure that every drop is consumed.

Today, made this 'Kook Far Leong Char' aka 'Chrysanthemum cooling tea', a refreshingly delicious, soothing drink, which can be taken at all times, throughout the year.





clockwise  .......  Chrysanthemum, Kam Choe/Liquorice, Yeong Sum Soo/Ginseng whiskers and Rock sugar


traditionally, Chrysanthemum has been used in Chinese medicine to treat fever, heatstroke and sore throat


Recipe for Chrysanthemum Cooling Tea

Ingredients

70 gm dried Chrysanthemum
10 gm Yeong Sum Soo
4 pieces Kam Choe/Liquorice
90 gm Rock Sugar
2.75 litre water

Method

Wash and rinse chrysanthemum a couple of times
to rid of dirt and grime thoroughly, then set aside
Bring to the boil the 2.75 litre of water
and once boiling, add in the
chrysanthemum
yeong sum soo
kam choe and
rock sugar
Cover the pot and let it simmer under low heat
for half an hour
when cooled, strain and
Serve




Comments

  1. This is a very nice drink & I cook it very often. My family likes it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for dropping by, Mary. Need to congratulate you on your being on Top 9, was busy with relatives over the weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dad used to make this for me whenever I have a fever. I actually forgot the Chinese names for it. It's a good thing you wrote it down. This is surely a healing tea for everyone who has a lot of heat inside. Thanks for the wonderful information.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey..this is what I will cook for the kids when they are back....sieve them and agar agar powder...yummy chrysanthemum jelly...try that...you will love it. Check this out :-
    http://elinluv.blogspot.com/2009/06/chrysanthemum-tea-jelly.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Divina
    You are welcome. You can also add chrysanthemum
    into Chinese tea..it's called 'Kook Poh', meaning Chrysanthemum and Poh Lei, that's a type of Chinese tea leaves.

    Elin
    Ya, I saw your post on chrysanthemum jelly, looks very refreshing, will certainly try it.
    Thanks for reminding.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I made this very often too but I put more 'yangseng' less chrysanthemum. Still tasty good LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What's 'yangseng'? Is it the ginseng roots? Maybe it's called differently in your part of the world. We need a lot of cooling tea here, more so if the weather is hot and dry.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi..!! Greetings from Singapore. I know that this is a really post but THANKS . I remember my grandmother making this for us when we were very young but these days, we've lost the patience to do simple things like this.

    I'll make this today but I'll use Winter Melon Strips (Tong Kwa) instead of Rock sugar.

    I'm gonna look through your blog and see what recipes you have over the years.

    Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for dropping by. Please click on 'Anonymous' if you do not have a blog but do leave your name after the comment because I would like to know who you are.

Popular posts from this blog

Durian Butter Cake ~ 榴莲牛油蛋糕

  It's the durian season again and I'm sharing with you a simple yet fragrant Durian Butter Cake.  This recipe does not use the traditional butter totally, in fact there is oil too.  Liquid oil tends to make the cake softer and stays moist longer as it does not solidify at room temperature.  This cake is soft and moist with a tinge of durian flavour and aroma.  A breakfast or Tea time snack for those who love durian. Durian Butter Cake ~  榴莲牛油蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm unsalted butter 190 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 30 ml vegetable oil 85 gm caster sugar 3 'L' eggs 130 gm pureed durian flesh 4 Tbsp milk a pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Method Sift flour with baking powder and salt.  Set aside. Beat butter with sugar till well blended, add in oil and continue beating till pale and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, mix well. Add in pureed durian flesh, mix till well incorporated. Sift in again the sifted flour in 2 batches, alternating with the milk.  Fold in till

Chicken Floss Cake ~ 鸡肉松蛋糕

It's normal to find buns coated with meat floss in any bakery, but yet to find a meat floss coated piece of cake.  I saw this Chicken Floss Cake on youtube and was eager to give this a shot.  The recipe is quite similar to a chiffon cake and I was curious to find out the taste which should be slightly sweetish and saltish.  Wouldn't it be weird, I wonder.  But it turned out that the taste is rather unique with a light and soft texture and my family members gave me a thumbs up and asked for more! Chicken Floss Cake ~  鸡肉松蛋糕           Ingredients (A) 4 egg yolks 40 ml oil 50 ml milk 65 gm plain flour, sifted Chicken floss White sesame seeds Chopped spring onions (optional) a pinch of salt (B)  4 egg whites        40 gm caster sugar Method In a bowl, beat egg yolks, add in oil, mix well, then add in milk. Mix in sifted flour till well combined. In another clean bowl, beat egg whites till frothy, then add in sugar in 2 batches and beat til

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts.  It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets.  This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.