Glehnia, Ophiopogon and Fig Tea

Why people make this tea

Canker sores are one of those small but surprisingly miserable problems. In Chinese food-therapy thinking, they tend to appear when the body is running “too hot” — from lack of sleep, emotional stress, or eating too much fried food. Children can also get them not from those causes but from too many cold drinks and chilled snacks upsetting the digestive balance. This three-ingredient tea is Bro Niu’s go-to for the “heat and dryness” type of mouth sore: glehnia and ophiopogon gently nourish yin and cool internal heat, while dried figs add a natural sweetness and extra soothing action.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Adults and children dealing with canker sores associated with poor sleep, stress, or a constitution running warm
• Suitable for the whole family; a small bowl is fine for young children
• Those with canker sores during a cold or accompanied by strong chills should address the cold first; this tea is yin-nourishing and not appropriate for wind-cold conditions

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Glehnia root (bei sha shen): A cooling, sweet herb traditionally associated with nourishing lung and stomach yin, and clearing deficiency heat
• Ophiopogon root (mai dong): Considered moistening and yin-tonifying; traditional texts link it to calming internal heat and supporting the heart and lungs
• Dried fig (wu hua guo): Naturally sweet; used in food-therapy to moisten the throat and intestines; the purple variety shown in the original photo is wild fig

Ingredients (2 bowls)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Glehnia root (bei sha shen)	~18 g (5 qian)	Available at Chinese herb shops
Ophiopogon root (mai dong)	~18 g (5 qian)	Available at Chinese herb shops
Dried figs (wu hua guo)	4 pieces	Slice before cooking; purple wild figs are ideal but regular dried figs work fine
Water	5 bowls (~1.2 L)	Reduce to 2 bowls

Method

1. Rinse all ingredients with clean water.
2. Slice the dried figs.
3. Combine all ingredients in a pot with 5 bowls of water (approximately 1.2 litres).
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a medium-low simmer for about 25–30 minutes until roughly 2 bowls remain.
5. Strain and drink warm. The tea can be taken once or twice daily.

Bro Niu’s tips

The purple wild figs in the original photo are a nice find, but regular dried figs from a Chinese grocery are perfectly fine. As a quick first-aid measure for a painful sore, rinsing with warm, concentrated salt water (or salt water plus a little strong tea) can provide temporary relief, though it does sting. To support recovery from the inside, also try eating red rice or oat porridge a few times a week — both supply B vitamins, which are linked to oral health. A bowl of pork liver or chicken liver soup once or twice a week is another traditional approach in food-therapy for canker sore prevention.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Lily): How much water is 5 bowls, roughly? And is 5 qian about 18 grams? Bro Niu: One bowl is approximately 240 ml, so 4 bowls fall just under a litre. Five qian is roughly 18 grams — that’s right.

• Q (reader): I finished my period and now have a canker sore that’s been there a week. Would a soup of glehnia, polygonatum, ophiopogon, snow pear, and apple work? Is it too cooling? Bro Niu: You can use the glehnia and polygonatum soup — it nourishes yin and moistens dryness without being overly cold.

• Q (reader): Yesterday I drank a winter melon dampness-clearing soup, and today I notice I have a canker sore. Can I drink this tea? Bro Niu: Yes, you can drink this tea. You could also try a soup of soybean sprouts, tofu, snow fungus, and lean pork — the whole family can have it, and it helps with canker sores caused by heart-stomach heat. If yours seems to come from staying up late and yin deficiency, add 6–7 dried oysters to the broth when cooking.

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Published February 29, 2012 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.