SHIOK SHIOK #4: Fresh Lemongrass Ginger Tea - Cool Your Body Down with this Harmonious Infusion
Soothing and refreshing, my all-time favourite summer tea is not made of some citrus or berry fruit infusion. It's the heart-warming and body-cooling combination of two beautiful herbs: Lemongrass and Ginger Root.
In Chinese food ideology, lemongrass is categorized as a cooling herb while ginger is a warm herb — together, they create harmonious balance of yin and yang. Chinese medicine strongly supports a yin-yang duality in the body. Yin refers to cool, expanding foods such as ice berg lettuce that have a cooling effect on the body, while yang refers to warm, contracting foods like steak which have a heaty effect on the body.
Chinese medicine stands by the belief that this balance of yin and yang regulate one’s spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. When a deficiency or an excess of yin or yang exists, bodily and spiritual ailments would ensue. Accordingly, we should strive to maintain a harmonious balance.
I don't really follow Chinese food ideology
Basically, I eat anything and everything I feel like eating when I want to. However, since moving to Germany’s cooler, drier climate, I have found myself on the bad side of having too much ‘yin’ in my body. It basically entails nausea, discomfort, and bloating in the belly region.
Beyond conforming to Chinese medical advice, lemongrass and ginger are full known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties. Aside from boosting the immune system, these herbs work hand-in-hand to encourage blood circulation, lower blood pressure, and enhance weight loss by boosting metabolic and digestive processes. Ginger is also a known remedy for nausea and has a reductive effect on the appetite.
In Singapore, pandan leaves are also added to this drink, but I have yet to find that fragrant ingredient in Düsseldorf, so I make my tea without pandan. Nevertheless, I love my version of this tea, and it is a must-have during hot summer days! Imagine the combination on your tongue: a soothing lemongrass aroma punctuated by the hot, spicy undertones of ginger. If you do not fancy the hot, spicy zing of ginger, simply remove the ginger from both your imagination and the recipe :)
Everything you need for a pot of Lemongrass Ginger Tea:
8 stalks of lemongrass, ends trimmed
15 gm (approx. 3/4 inch piece) peeled ginger, sliced
Teeny-tiny wedge of lemon, rind included (20 gm)
100gm raw sugar
2 L water
How to make it:
Cut lemon grass stalks in half. Using the butt of a knife handle, firmly crush or hammer lightly (don’t use too much strength! You don’t want to break the stalks up) into the lemon grass bulbs to bruise them. Bruising the lemongrass helps to release the oils. This will make the tea more fragrant.
Place lemongrass, ginger slices, lemon, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan.
Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Boil the tea rigorously for 10 minutes.
Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
The tea is now ready to be drunk hot.
Note: This tea can be served cold as well. In fact, I prefer it cold! Be sure to allow the pot of tea to cool down to room temperature, before you pop the entire pot into the fridge to chill.
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I will be featuring Singaporean dishes and sharing recipes.
If you like the sound of this SHIOK SHIOK series, I welcome your upvote and comments below. I do enjoy reading every comment :))
A BIG THANK YOU to all my readers. Yes, that includes YOU! <3
@foodie.warrior
Your name portrays your warrior like persona in the area of food..and medicinal herbs... the combination of lemongrass & Ginger is really quite helpful even in many areas fromm where i come from. The Yin Yang balance is a welcome knowledge even to someone like me who is keen on Traditional Chinese Medicine!
You a treasure in Steemit and you already won my upvotes and followership... hoping you will win my heart ;)
Thanks for sharing this...
Thanks @kenhudoy! Your words are so poetic, they ebb and flow like a rhythm :)
You're keen on TCM? When did your interest in TCM start? :) Where are you from, btw?
TCM is an ancient practice which has stayed over the years benefiting mankind...as such, its a treasure to humanity and worthy of knowing...
your post inspires me and may i say my heart is beating like a chinese drum awaiting to read your blog posts
Keep steeming hot dear... you are here to stay!
hehe you sure do enjoy the Chinese culture..even coming up with such original analogies :)) thanks for your kind words again!
always welcome my dear...
I make ginger tea but not with lemon grass. That looks so very refreshing. Loved your post and of course the pictures. :) I must take a look at all your other posts when I find the time.
hehe thanks for dropping by @knowledge1! :) I smiled when I read your comment! Glad you liked it!
I don' t remember having lemon grass with ginger though off and on I go a teh halia. :-) I think it probably easier to get ginger than lemon grass there.
I heard not good to have ginger at night before but even I've drink teh halia so. Decided to look a bit and may be there's some reason to it:
http://www.cngjzj.com/eng_content.asp?id=39546
haha you're right, it's not so common in Singapore..But I always have an eye out for it, and when I see Lemongrass Tea on the menu of any cafe in SG, I always order this! HAHA omg I miss having roti prata and teh halia for supper..Interesting read, even with the all-over-the-place english, but I never felt problems following ginger consumption at night teehee
then you are like some people who drink coffee and sleep. BTW, we can get the ginger powder here. not quite the real thing but convenient.
hehe yes, the aunties in some coffee shops actually use the ginger powder though :) I've made teh halia here too..I may do a post on that in the future, after a teh tahrik one of course lolll..
btw, coffee is not my thing..I get jitters when I drink a strong cup of that, not being able to sleep is not even the big problem hahahha
Thank you for this, I am so going to make it. X
You're welcome, @allabuotpastries! I hope you enjoy the tea! :)
This sounds yummy and it's so pretty:)
Is it very sweet?
hehe <3 the recipe proportions are to my taste..I find it pleasantly sweet, not too much! But if you're worried, you can try adding 80gm first and taste test after it's done (you could always add another 20 gm after the boiling process is over, if your sweet tooth starts throwing a tantrum).
I think you can try to interpret the yin yang into "acid and bases" in terms of nutrition in the western civilization (:
The drink really looks refreshing and I would love to taste it right now! :D
hehe perhaps..I'm not an off-the-head expert in either field though, so safer for me not to make too many generalisations lol..Make it on a day when the temperature hits 30° :)
30°?! :O
That day I just wanna hide in a dark basement and sleep all day :D I'm note made for such temperatures (:
hehe you are just like my husband then :)) he hides out in the basement too
I already like your husband without really knowing him! :D
hehe and we were taught that likes repel in science magnetic class :)
@foodie.warrior = wow!! I cant wait to taste that tea... nothign like we have it here, I used to deal with Green Tea from world's highest organic tea gardens too.. This is just class apart.. keep up the series:)
Thanks @rideofpassion! You'll get to taste it the day you make it ;) how did you deal with green tea from the world's highest organic tea gardens? and where are those??
Never really thought of the yin and yang concept applying to food too! It makes sense, but just never really contemplated it. You slap me with something new all the time. Your body must really love you because you are giving it good nutrients all the time. Just like I tell the kids...food is fuel and we don't like bad fuel in our cars, right?
hahaha yay I'll keep happily slapping away with new stuff then ;)) Unfortunately I also give my body lots of junk food..but as usual, you give the best analogies for children.. :))
The last blog post I read you had Asian snacks, then i saw waffles, then you were going to a rib bar and showed a delicious dessert as your last picture. I was literally full after reading that post and I had not even had breakfast yet lol.
hehehe well, it was several hours of walking all over the city between the snacks & waffles and ribs hehe..
I wish that worked for me..I am hungry every night, and gotta grab a snack close to bedtime, or else I won't be able to sleep :S
You are right...you probably did burn off the calories.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmZEsaPxipE22atjqR3moXLzYYqguPo7FUXrvFfMbTSJ5z/image.png)
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But the last comment:
excellent post thanks, I especially find the Yin and Yang table very informative
It makes me happy that you found the table and post valuable :) Thanks @abetterworld! Have a great day!
That looks good, would be a drink to taste. Upvoted!
Thanks @styxer! Hope you get to taste this some day :)