Recipe
Dokudami tea from dried herb
- Herb:
- Fish mint Houttuynia cordata
- Method:
- Herbal infusion (tea)
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 10 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Lightly crumble the dried houttuynia herb; for a rounder taste you can dry-roast it 2 minutes in a pan.
- Pour on 300 ml of boiling water and steep 5 minutes under a lid.
- Strain; the taste is hay-like and slightly bitter, so honey or blending with roasted green tea (hojicha) suits it.
- Drink warm, or chilled in summer; keep the rest in the fridge until the next day.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 heaped teaspoon (about 3 g) of dried aerial parts per 300 ml
- Solvent:
- boiling water, 5 minutes; in Japan the aerial parts are often roasted for a rounder flavour
- Shelf life:
- drink within 24 hours; also good cold
- Target compounds:
- flavonoids (quercitrin, hyperoside) and potassium salts enter the water; volatile decanoylacetaldehyde (fishy odour) disappears with drying
Notes
A Japanese and Vietnamese folk drink, sold in Japan as an everyday herbal tea. No health claims; with kidney disease drink in moderation (potassium).
Why it works
The fishy smell of fresh houttuynia comes from decanoyl acetaldehyde, a volatile aldehyde that breaks down on drying and heating — which is why the tea does not smell of fish. The infusion retains the flavonoids quercitrin and hyperoside and plenty of potassium; the review by Shingnaisui et al. 2018 attributes anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects to them, but almost exclusively from cell and animal studies. The tea is therefore a traditional drink, not a medicine.
Literature
- Shingnaisui K, Dey T, Manna P, Kalita J (2018): Therapeutic potentials of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. against inflammation and oxidative stress: A review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 220:35–43 — Review of composition and predominantly preclinical data on anti-inflammatory effects.
Related
Fish mint — Herb card
Herbal infusion (tea) — Processing method detail