Green Olive & Rock Sugar Drink

Why people make this drink

Green Chinese olives (qing lan, or Chinese white olive, Canarium album) are quite different from the Mediterranean olives most Westerners know — they are hard, fresh, slightly astringent, and fragrant, sold at Cantonese produce stalls in the warmer months. In Guangdong, they have long been called the “fruit of the lungs and stomach” for their traditional association with soothing the respiratory tract. When children suffer through that relentless, whooping cough that just won’t quit, grandmothers across Hong Kong and Guangdong have reached for green olives. Simmered with just a little rock sugar, the olives release a deeply aromatic, mildly sweet liquid that is traditionally associated with clearing lung heat, easing the throat, and helping to resolve phlegm. Nourilo teaches this simple recipe at his food-therapy classes, and students who grew up near olive orchards often recognise it immediately as a taste from childhood.

Method

1. Rinse the green olives. Using the flat side of a cleaver or a heavy object, gently crack (not crush) each olive so the interior is exposed and flavour can be released.
2. Place the cracked olives in a pot with 1.8 L of water.
3. Bring to the boil, then simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes until the liquid reduces to about 600–900 ml.
4. Add rock sugar and stir until dissolved.
5. Divide the liquid and drink over the course of the day.

Nourilo’s Tips

This drink is naturally pleasant — clean, faintly sweet, and lightly aromatic. It is suitable for all ages. It can also help clear the lungs for homemakers who are often exposed to gas cooking fumes. One important purchasing note: when buying fresh green olives, do not choose ones that are an unnaturally bright, vivid green with absolutely no yellow in them. Those have likely been soaked in alum water (fan shui) to preserve colour and are not safe to eat.