This delicious and therapeutic cranberry sauce is a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner each year. The negative effects of overeating can be greatly reduced by adding the herbs hawthorne berry (shan zha), dried tangerine peel (chen pi), cinnamon (rou gui) and fresh ginger (sheng jiang) to this traditional cranberry sauce recipe. These herbs are used for a condition that Chinese Medicine calls food stagnation. Food stagnation occurs when you have overeaten, leaving you with bloating, fatigue, heart burn, constipation or diarrhea and even insomnia. So enjoy your feast and add this herbal version of the traditional cranberry sauce to your Thanksgiving table this year!
Ingredients
3 cups (1 lb.) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup shan zha (hawthorne berries)*
1 whole chen pi (dried tangerine peel)*
3″ stick rou gui (cinnamon)
1 slice sheng jiang (fresh ginger)
3/4 cup sugar or honey
juice from one orange
1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Soak hawthorne berries in water until soft.
- Remove all seeds! (Be certain that you have removed all the seeds or you will have some very unhappy guests later on, as these seeds are as hard as a stone).
- If the tangerine peel is in small pieces, place the peel in a tea bag or cheese cloth and close with cooking twine. You will need to remove the peel from the the cranberry sauce before serving.
- Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until cranberries just pop open.
- Let cool. Remove the tangerine peel, cinnamon stick and fresh ginger before serving.
* Herbal packets of shan zha (hawthrone berry) and chen pi (dried tangerine peel) can be purchased at our clinic. You can call us at (978) 369-9400 to set up a time to stop by or place your order over the phone and we will ship to you.