Kitchen Recipe Collection
Salted Kumquat Drink (Xian Gan Ju)
A traditional remedy that is also a delicious beverage. Preserved, salt-cured kumquats are muddled with honey and hot or cold water, creating a sweet, salty, and intensely citrusy drink.
- Prep
- 2 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 7 min
- Servings
- 1
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 1 serving
- 2 preserved salted kumquats (store-bought in jars)
- 1 tbsp honey or simple syrup
- 1 cup hot water (or cold sparkling water)
- Optional: A slice of fresh lemon
Equipment
- Mug or glass
- Muddler or spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare Kumquats
Place the two salted kumquats in the bottom of a mug.
- 2
Muddle
Use a muddler or the back of a spoon to crush the kumquats thoroughly, breaking the skin and releasing the salty juices and intense citrus oils.
- 3
Add Sweetener
Add the honey. (You need the sweetness to balance the extreme saltiness of the preserved fruit).
- 4
Add Water
Pour hot water (for a sore throat remedy) or cold sparkling water with ice (for a refreshing summer drink) into the mug.
- 5
Stir
Stir vigorously to dissolve the honey and mix the salty citrus oils into the water.
- 6
Serve
Serve immediately. The flavor is a unique, addictive combination of salty, sweet, sour, and bitter.
Cooking Tips
- Salted kumquats are made by packing fresh kumquats in coarse salt and leaving them in the sun for months. You can buy jars of them at any Asian supermarket.
- If you have a sore throat or a cough, drinking this piping hot is considered one of the best traditional Cantonese remedies.
Variations
- Salted Kumquat 7-Up: A very popular order in Hong Kong cafes (Cha Chaan Teng) where the salted fruit is muddled directly into an ice-cold glass of 7-Up or Sprite.
Nutrition Estimate
80 calories · 0g protein · 20g carbs · 0g fat · 1g fiber per serving
