Homemade Aged Tangerine Peel (Xin Hui Chen Pi)

Why people make this

Aged tangerine peel (chen pi) is a cornerstone of the Cantonese kitchen — a piece or two dropped into an everyday soup is traditionally said to help move qi and resolve phlegm. The Xin Hui winter tangerine is the prized source. The trick is patience: the greener the fresh peel, the more fragrant it becomes once dried and aged, and good peel needs at least three years of storage before use. And when an early cold and cough come on, that same peel becomes a quick warming tea with ginger and perilla.