Nourishing dang shen tea is suitable for women who are doing confinement after giving birth or for normal weekly consumption. It can be easily prepared with Instant Pot or on the stove.
I had this dang shen tea after giving birth to both of my kiddos. I had been drinking Red Dates Tea starting at 32 weeks of pregnancy, twice daily until the week of my due date. This dang shen tea is a more “complete” version and I’m drinking this along with the Rice and Ginger Tea daily in replace of water.
BENEFITS OF THIS DANG SHEN TEA
The combination of the Chinese Herbs in this tea is “formulated” to keep our body “warmed” and to replenish the “Heat/Qi” in our bodies. I actually like drinking this tea 🙂 It is kinda sweet, thanks to the black dates, longan, and goji berries 🙂
Again, there are no tea leaves involved in the preparation. It is called “tea” simply because of the color resemblance to traditional Chinese tea.
HOW OFTEN TO DRINK DANG SHEN TEA
For confinement: My mom made this in a big batch (triple the recipe) because I’m consuming it throughout the day, almost replacing my daily plain water intake.
For nourishing purpose (but not in confinement): Mom suggest to have 1 cup of this dang shen tea once or twice a week as it is considered quite “heaty” if you are not doing confinement
INGREDIENTS
1. Dang Shen Root (Codonopsis Pilosula): Dang shen is also referred to as poor man’s ginseng. The Chinese believe that dang shen is as nourishing as the expensive ginseng, but doesn’t come with ginseng’s price, and hence the name poor man’s ginseng. It is one of the most important Chinese herbs that is commonly used in soups and teas for nourishing the body such as it aids with digestion, weakness, fatigue, and poor appetite. You can get dang shen root from the Chinese Medicine Hall.
2. Black Dates:You may have heard of red dates, but black dates are also another common Chinese herbs used in soups and teas. My mom said that black dates are more “heaty” compared to red dates in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and therefore very suitable for women who have just given birth and doing confinement. Black dates are also added to this tea for some sweetness and its other benefits such as its high antioxidant properties, minerals, and fiber. Black dates are usually available in Asian grocery store or Chinese Medicine hall
3. Ginger: Only use fresh ginger. Ginger adds the nice soothing aroma. The Chinese swears by ginger to help ease many ailments and it helps to keep the body warm too.
4. Dried Longan: Dried longan is sweet and when comes into contact with liquid, will plump up. Dried longan is considered “heaty” in TCM. It nourishes heart and spleen and helps to replenish blood, improves sleep quality. Dried longan is sweet in nature too and adds a nice sweetness to this tea. Dried longan is available in Asian grocery store or Chinese Medicine hall too.
5. Goji berries: Goji berries are probably the easiest ingredients to get these days. I bought mine in big batch from Costco 🙂 I have this in small amount as a snack daily. Goji berries are considered a superfood because they are full chocked of antioxidant, vitamin, minerals, and other nutrients
HOW TO MAKE DANG SHEN TEA WITH BLACK DATES, GINGER, LONGAN, GOJI BERRY
1. PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS: Wash all the dried Chinese herb ingredients. Thinly slice the ginger as it helps to release more flavor. When you buy the Dang Shen from the Chinese Medical Hall, ask them to cut the root into 1-inch pieces if possible
2. IF PREPARING ON THE STOVE: Pour 1 1/2 litre of water into a medium pot or saucepan. Add all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and let it simmers for about 1 hour
3. IF PREPARING WITH INSTANT POT: Pour 1 1/2 litre of water into inner pot of Instant Pot. Add all the ingredients. Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on “high pressure”. Set the timer to 10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure
HOW TO SERVE DANG SHEN TEA
Nourishing Chinese herbal tea like this needs to be served warm, especially if you are doing confinement. You can just drink the tea and discard the solids as all the good stuff have gone into the tea. You can eat the solids too if you want.
HOW TO STORE EXTRA DANG SHEN TEA
I got emails from my readers who are or will be doing their own confinement and like to prepare things ahead. This tea can be made in a bigger batch and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Dang Shen Tea (with Black Dates, Ginger, Longan, Goji Berry)
Ingredients
- 8- 10 pieces black dates
- 3 inch fresh ginger peeled and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup goji berries
- 10 pieces dried longan
- 10-12 1-inch Dang Shen root pieces
- 1 ½ litres water
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients:
- Wash all the dried Chinese herb ingredients. Thinly slice the ginger as it helps to release more flavor. When you buy the Dang Shen from the Chinese Medical Hall, ask them to cut the root into 1-inch pieces if possible
Prepare the tea on the stove:
- Pour 1 1/2 litre of water into a medium pot or saucepan. Add all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and let it simmers for about 1 hour
Prepare the tea with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
- Pour 1 1/2 litre of water into inner pot of Instant Pot. Add all the ingredients. Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure
Serving:
- The dang shen tea needs to be served warm
Storage:
- The tea can be stored in a jar along with the herbs to let them steep further, in the refrigerator, for up to one week max. Simply reheat on the stove or microwave until warm
DID YOU MAKE THIS DANG SHEN TEA RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Other types of Chinese herbal teas you might like:
Goji berry tea
Ginger dates tea
Rice and ginger tea (Bee Teh)
Sweet potato ginger soup
9 comments
Hello!! I can’t find black dates, do you think it’s ok to just use jujube? Also what’s the difference of black and red dates? 🙂
Hi Yna, it’s perfectly fine with red jujube. Black dates are a bit more “heaty” compared to red dates, but you can use either one!
Hi Marv, did you also drink this tea during pregnancy (especially in the third trimester)? Or this one is for strictly after birth, and the red dates tea (https://whattocooktoday.com/red-dates-tea.html) is more suitable for pregnancy? Thank you 🙂
Hi Jenny, I drank the red dates tea during pregnancy in the third trimester. The dang hen tea is more for during the confinement period. I hope this helps.
Can we pre make this and freeze it?
Hi Ally, yes you can. You can portion it out and freezes for about a month in the freezer.
Hi Ms. Lim,
Not sure which Susi you are referring to here 🙂 but I’ll try my best to answer your question. My mom who did my confinement, did include vegetables in my diet. It’s good source of fiber. Certain types like radishes or kangkung, she would stay away because according to the Chinese, it’s a “cold” veggies. I’m cutting down on my chili intake simply because I’m still breastfeeding and if you do plan to breastfeed your baby or perhaps is breastfeeding, I think it’s better not to eat too much spicy stuff as it goes to your milk too and it can upset your baby’s tummy. I don’t see any reason why you can’t eat buns, bread and chicken stock ? I ate lots of garlic during confinement too. The only thing about that is, the breastmilk also taste garlic-ky, but my baby doesn’t seem to mind it 🙂
Well, that’s my 2cents and good luck with your confinement. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Susi,
Thank you 🙂
Hi there, I’ve been so out of the loop this last month and are trying to catch up on a few posts. First off congratulations on your baby girl :o) November is a great month, both of my boys are born in it :o) Hope you are feeling well! Your posts about the confinement diet are fascinating :o)