Hello. I'm Hamada, a registered dietitian and member of the Nakayoshi staff.
I love mandarin oranges in the winter. Kochi is full of delicious citrus fruits, such as Buddha's hand, yuzu, pomelo, and Yamakita mandarin oranges.
Chinpi, made from dried mandarin peel
This time, we will introduce how to make Chenpi, a delicious way to use mandarin peels, simply by drying them.
What is Chinpi?
Chenpi is made by drying mandarin peel for over a year , and has been used as an ingredient in herbal medicine in China since ancient times . "Chen" means old, and it is said that the older it is, the better its medicinal properties are, hence the name "chenpi."
Before eating the mandarins, carefully wipe off any dirt on the surface with a wet cloth, and then dry them in the shade for about two weeks on a drying net or colander, being careful of moisture and humidity to prevent mold . I dry the peels as is, but it makes the process easier if you chop them up into small pieces first.
I enjoy turning it over every now and then and watching it dry day by day (just be careful on rainy days!)
Grind gently in a food processor
Once dry, grind them in a food processor. The skins are very hard after drying, so grinding them is loud and tedious, but the scent of mandarin oranges fills the room.
* Fine powder will fly when grinding, so we recommend laying newspaper down.
By the way, Cuisinart processors are strong and recommended.
Can be stored in a jar for up to a year
After about 15 minutes of grinding in a food processor, the result is this. ↑This is the amount of 6 mandarin peels.
Store them in a jar with a desiccant in it. If you sift the dried tangerine peels through a tea strainer and store them separately, you can use them differently depending on the dish, which is convenient.
Delicious ways to use homemade dried tangerine peels
For the larger dried tangerine peels that don't pass through the tea strainer, you can pickle them in honey and add them to pound cake, enjoy them as dried tangerine peel tea or black tea, or add them to vinegared rice. I made inari sushi at New Year's by mixing dried tangerine peels into vinegared rice. It was refreshing and delicious.
Recommended is dried tangerine peel salt
It is convenient to make powdered tangerine peel salt by adding salt , and it goes well with tempura and sashimi. You can also use it as it is to accent soups , vinegared dishes, and salads , or as a cream topping for sweets or yogurt with honey, so it looks beautiful and is delicious to enjoy.
What did you all think? It is said that dried tangerine peel can improve stress by relaxing you, boost your immune system, promote blood circulation, prevent diabetes, and alleviate allergy symptoms such as hay fever , and also has skin-beautifying effects .
You can easily make dried tangerine peels at home. Once you make them, you can enjoy them for a long time, so I plan to make lots of use of them during the winter. I hope you all will give them a try.
Well then ^^
