Chenpi, the dried mandarin peel, is a specialty of Xinhui for as far as history remembers. In this part of China, the chenpi is so well-known that it is considered one of the three treasures of Guangdong, alongside with old ginger and straw.

At first glance, these three things seem rather insignificant to be called the treasures of a province long reputed for its prosperity and vibrant cultural life. Yet all three have been critical ingredients and materials in Cantonese culture, especially in its cuisine. Chenpi is particularly known for its fragrance. Adding just a small piece of chenpi introduces a unique flavor and aroma in tea and food. Chenpi also comes handy in Chinese medicinal application.

The Chenpi Village of Xinhui is a trading market for tourists. I have no other way to know which stores in Xinhui are good, or highly reputed, so I decided to visit the touristy Chenpi Village in search for the secrets to chenpi. I did learn a lot.

I looked around when the stores were just opening their doors. After visiting a couple stores, I went into the mall. There, a lady started telling me about the specific qualities of chenpi. In her I sensed a genuine, learned appreciation for the treasure of Guangdong. The staff at the other two stores were simply too eager to make deals. She was rather eager to share about the knowledge and expertise that makes her products special.

Her store’s name is Chen Lao Guo.

Distinguishing Chenpi

Photo above: These are peel pieces.

The Difference between Fruity and Aged Chenpi

Chenpi, its literal meaning in Chinese is “aged skin.” The first order of judging the value of a piece of chenpi is the ability to discern between the fragrance, color, appearance and texture of the dried mandarin peel. In terms of fragrance, the good Xinhui chenpi is not supposed to be fruity. If you smell a strong, unitary smell that reminds you of the sweetness and sourness of fruit, beware. It is supposed to smell aged, “chen,” with hints of citrus, but a complex and rather subtle aroma. The older the dried mandarin peel, the chen fragrance is the more pronounced than the fruitiness.

Perhaps it is an obvious point, but the more aged the peel is, the darker the color as well.   In terms of aging, it is not uncommon for a Cantonese grandmother to keep her chenpi for a lifetime, meaning 40 to 50 years. Such old chenpi is what the Cantonese people think of as miraculous cure for lung and stomach deceases.

Photo above: These are whole peels.

As you would expect, the more aged the peel is, the more expensive it gets. There is also a common distinction between whole peel and peel pieces. The whole peel refers to the dried peel of a whole mandarin, in three attached but distinct pieces. For cooking and self-use, the peel pieces would do – you do not typically need a whole peel. In fact, it is better to break the peel into smaller pieces if you use it for cooking, otherwise the bitterness will overwhelm your food.

In terms of medicinal quality, there is no difference between the whole peel or the peel pieces. The whole peel is for the sake of gift-giving usually. When you buy chenpi as a gift, whole pieces are simply better looking, as it is indeed more expensive even if they are from the same batch of mandarins and aged for the same amount of time.

If you do buy chenpi in Xinhui, consider only the peels that have aged for over 10 years. That is the time that the medicinal qualities have formed, and it will be worthwhile to make chenpi infused tea with those.

Red Chenpi Versus Green Peel

Photo above: This is a whole green peel.

The most sought after chenpi is the red peel. The less common kind is the green peel. Please be careful about these. Green peels   come from mandarins that were not yet ripe, thus the green color. Even after years of aging, green peels are a world’s difference in terms of its medicinal qualities. Green peels only serve to dispel excessive heat in the body. It has no use in stomach decongestion and lung nurture, unlike the red chenpi. In fact, the green peels have such a strong heat dispelling effect that they can cause some problems if your body is already cold in nature. The green peel, even when aged, remains a dark green color.

Four Times of Boiling to Infuse Chenpi Flavor

Ultimately, the best judge of the quality of chenpi is to get a taste of it. At the Chen Lao Guo store I enjoyed the chenpi tea making the most. The lady Ms. Hua demonstrated the technique of “Four Time Infusion” to render both the essence and medicinal qualities of chenpi. I tried a full piece of chenpi from the year 2014, meaning that it has had full ten years of aging.

She said for the chenpi flavors to be rendered one has to boil the whole piece of it for four separate times. On the fourth time, you will really taste the aged, bitterness that remains in your palate, and this bitter first impression will linger and turn into a herbal sweetness. True to her word, I only noticed the strength of the chenpi after she boiled it for the fourth time.

The chenpi water from the first time of boiling is for cleansing purposes. You do not retain that water. After that, boil the water with the chenpi for four separate times, five minutes each session. For all four times you would retain the water, drink it and slowly garner the sensation that the chenpi flavors are being infused in increasing intensity, until the herbal sweetness finally lingers in your palate.

But don’t take me wrong here, the four time infusion does not limit you to boiling the chenpi for only four times. You can certainly boil it for as much as ten times, throughout the day, drink it as if it is water, until you cannot taste the chenpi again. It is advised that you drink chenpi infused tea throughout the day.

Chenpi’s Medicinal Qualities

Xinhui’s chenpi has been named in the ancient medical scrolls of China, the preeminent Bencao Gangmu (The Compendium of Materia Medica), as the very best in its medicinal qualities. Xinhui is thus properly the home of chenpi. The author Li Shizhen, one of the four Great Doctors of China, praised the chenpi of Xinhui, naming the health effects of casting out the heat and dampness in the body, decongestion and soothing one’s internal running of qi. As such chenpi is particularly good for the stomach and the lungs. The inner lining of the mandarin’s skin bears medicinal qualities.

Suggestions for Enjoying Chenpi

The simplest way to enjoy chenpi is to simply drink it as it has been infused in boiling water, as discussed above. If you have a whole bottle of hot water infused with chenpi, consider making a pot of pu’er tea with it. The same can be done with a pot of hand brewed coffee.

Another suggestion for using chenpi in cuisine is to put a small piece of chenpi (presoaked) into steamed spareribs with black bean sauce. Likewise, in almost any kind of Chinese soup a small piece of chenpi will enhance the overall flavor profile of the soup, with additional health benefits.

Storage

Perhaps it is now the time to wrap things up by discussing the storage of chenpi. At the store, you see the display of thousands of chenpi in glass jars. However, Ms. Hua told me that when they let the peel age, they mostly keep them in burlap sacks. They must keep the general environment very dry, of course, as air does seep into burlap sacks easily.

Once you bought your chenpi, for home use it is the easiest to keep these treasures stored in air-tight metal containers. Keep them in a cool and dark place, and let them age further.

Other Chenpi Delicacies

At the Chenpi Village I finally tried chenpi coffee, which I did not have a chance to do so in my last trip to Jiangmen. Because of its touristy nature, the Chenpi Village has all sorts of chenpi by products to offer. Besides the famous chenpi coffee, there is chenpi ice cream (as in ice cream scoops, not soft serve), and chenpi candies.

Surely, the Chenpi Village’s main objective is the retail of chenpi, but they do actually produce them in the villages right by the retail area. Although I had hoped for taking cultural photography at the Chenpi Village, the people there said the drying season has long been over. They do natural sunlight drying on site, and that usually takes place between September and around the time of the winter solstice.