Authentic Sour Plum Drink (Suan Mei Tang)

酸梅汤

Authentic Sour Plum Drink (Suan Mei Tang) — Soups & BeveragesBeijing home cooking.

Ingredients

• dried smoked plums (wu mei)
• dried hawthorn slices (shan zha)
• rock sugar
• dried osmanthus flowers

Instructions

1. Rinse wu mei and shan zha under cold water to remove dust. Place them in a large pot with 1.5 L (6¼ cups) cold water. (Water is clear, ingredients sink gently.)
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to low heat. Skim off any grayish foam that rises to the surface. (Thin gray foam gathers at edges of pot.)
3. Add rock sugar and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes. (Liquid reduces slightly; plums swell and darken.)
4. Turn off heat. Stir in dried osmanthus and let steep, covered, for 10 minutes. (Golden flecks of osmanthus float in amber liquid.)
5. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof pitcher. Discard solids. Chill thoroughly before serving over ice. (Clear, deep amber liquid with no sediment.)