Sour Plum Soda (Suanmeitang Soda)

Name: Sour Plum Soda (Suanmeitang Soda)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 10 plums (40 g) dried smoked plums (wumei), rinsed under cold water; ¼ cup (20 g) dried hawthorn slices, rinsed under cold water; 2½ cups (600 ml) water, cold; ½ cup (100 g) rock sugar, roughly crushed if in large chunks; 1 tbsp (2 g) dried osmanthus flowers (optional); 2½ cups (600 ml) plain soda water, very cold, from a freshly opened bottle; 3 cups (400 g) ice cubes; 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice, strained; only if you want extra brightness (optional); 4 sprigs (4 g) fresh mint sprigs, for garnish; slapped lightly between palms to release aroma (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

A sparkling take on classic Chinese suanmeitang: smoked plums and dried hawthorn are simmered with rock sugar into a tangy, lightly smoky, ruby-brown concentrate, then stirred with ice-cold soda water for a fizzy, refreshing mocktail.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Wait: 2 hr 35 min
Total: 3 hr 25 min
Makes: 4 drinks (about 210 ml / 7 oz each), plus about 140 ml (⅔ cup) extra concentrate

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the suanmeitang concentrate
10 plums (40 g) dried smoked plums (wumei), rinsed under cold water
¼ cup (20 g) dried hawthorn slices, rinsed under cold water
2½ cups (600 ml) water, cold
½ cup (100 g) rock sugar, roughly crushed if in large chunks
1 tbsp (2 g) dried osmanthus flowers (optional)
To build the drinks
2½ cups (600 ml) plain soda water, very cold, from a freshly opened bottle
3 cups (400 g) ice cubes
1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice, strained; only if you want extra brightness (optional)
4 sprigs (4 g) fresh mint sprigs, for garnish; slapped lightly between palms to release aroma (optional)

Equipment (7)

Medium saucepan (2-quart / 2-liter) with lid
Fine-mesh strainer
Heatproof bowl or jug (at least 750 ml / 3 cups)
Spoon or silicone spatula for pressing the fruit
4 tall glasses (about 300 ml / 10 oz each)
Long bar spoon or chopstick for stirring
Airtight jar or bottle for storing the concentrate

Steps

Before you start

Start at least 3½ hours before serving: the concentrate needs about 2 hours to chill fully.
Chill the soda water in the fridge for several hours so it is very cold; warm soda goes flat fast.
Smoked plums (wumei) and dried hawthorn slices are sold at Chinese groceries, herbal shops and online. Check each plum for stray pits or grit when rinsing.
If your rock sugar is in large chunks, crush it roughly with a rolling pin inside a zip bag so it dissolves evenly.

1
Rinse and soak
- Rinse the smoked plums and hawthorn slices briefly under cold running water.
- Place them in the saucepan with the 600 ml (2½ cups) cold water and let them soak for 20 minutes so the fruit softens and releases flavor more evenly.
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Ready when: Plums look plumped and slightly wrinkled, and the water has turned light amber
Tip: Don't skip the soak. Dry plums simmered straight away extract less flavor and taste harsher.
2
Bring to a boil
- Set the saucepan over high heat, uncovered, and bring to a full boil, about 5 minutes.
- Skim off any foam or dark specks from the surface with a spoon.
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Ready when: Large bubbles break steadily across the surface
3
Simmer the fruit
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover with the lid, and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
- Stir once or twice.
- Keep the bubbles lazy; a hard boil makes the plums bitter.
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Ready when: Liquid is deep reddish-brown, smells smoky and tart, and has reduced to about 450 ml (1¾ cups)
Tip: If the liquid drops below the level of the fruit, add 60 ml (¼ cup) hot water.
4
Dissolve the sugar
- Add the rock sugar and the dried osmanthus, if using.
- Keep simmering over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until every sugar crystal has dissolved.
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Ready when: No sugar crystals visible on the bottom of the pan when you scrape with a spoon; liquid looks slightly glossy
5
Steep off heat
- Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the mixture steep for 15 minutes.
- This deepens the sour-smoky flavor without more cooking.
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Ready when: Liquid is dark ruby-brown and fragrant
6
Strain the concentrate
- Set the fine-mesh strainer over the heatproof bowl and pour in the contents of the pan.
- Press the plums and hawthorn gently with the back of a spoon to extract the liquid, then discard the solids.
- You should have about 380 ml (1½ cups) of concentrate.
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Ready when: Concentrate is clear of pulp bits and pits, with no fruit left in the strainer worth pressing
Tip: Press gently. Mashing the plums hard pushes cloudy pulp through the strainer.
7
Chill thoroughly
- Let the concentrate cool at room temperature for 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until fully cold.
- Pouring warm concentrate over ice would dilute the drink and flatten the soda.
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Ready when: Concentrate feels cold to the touch all the way through (below 40°F / 4°C)
8
Taste and adjust
- Stir the cold concentrate and taste a spoonful.
- It should be bold, sour and sweet.
- If you want a sharper tang, stir in the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Remember that soda will dilute it by about three quarters.
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Ready when: Concentrate tastes slightly too strong and sweet-sour on its own, which is right once diluted
Tip: Taste a test glass first: 60 ml concentrate plus 150 ml soda. Adjust the whole batch only after that.
9
Build the drinks
- Fill each of the 4 glasses with about ¾ cup (100 g) ice.
- Pour 60 ml (¼ cup) cold concentrate into each glass.
- Slowly top each with 150 ml (⅔ cup) cold soda water, pouring down the inside of the tilted glass to preserve bubbles.
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Ready when: Glass is about ¾ full with a fine fizz rising through the ruby liquid
Tip: Don't use soda that was opened earlier. Fresh bubbles are the whole point of this drink.
10
Stir and garnish
- Stir each drink gently with a bar spoon, just 3 or 4 turns from the bottom up, so the concentrate and soda combine without knocking out the fizz.
- Tuck a mint sprig into each glass and serve right away.
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Ready when: Drink is an even deep amber-red with no darker layer of concentrate at the bottom
Tip: Serve within 10 minutes, while the soda is at its liveliest.

Good to know

Tips

Keep the simmer gentle. Boiling hard extracts bitterness from the plum pits and skins.
Freeze some concentrate in ice cube trays and use them in the glass so the drink stays cold without watering down.
For a smokier, more traditional flavor, use a little more smoked plum (add 2 plums); for a fruitier one, add more hawthorn.
Brands of wumei vary in saltiness and sourness, so always taste the concentrate and adjust before serving.

Make ahead

"The concentrate can be made up to 5 days ahead and kept chilled in a sealed jar. Add ice and soda water only when serving."

Storage & reheating

"Concentrate: room temperature up to 2 hours; refrigerated in an airtight jar up to 5 days; frozen in ice cube trays up to 2 months (thaw in the fridge or drop cubes straight into a glass and let them melt, then top with soda). Assembled drinks should not be stored because they go flat. The concentrate is served cold, so no reheating is needed; to enjoy it hot, warm 60 ml with 150 ml hot water instead of soda."

Substitutions

rock sugar → granulated sugar, 80 g (⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp). Dissolves faster and is slightly sweeter by volume. The flavor is a little less mellow than rock sugar.
dried hawthorn slices → 1 extra tablespoon (5 g) of dried hibiscus flowers. Gives similar tartness and color but changes the flavor; add during the last 10 minutes of simmering.
plain soda water → unsweetened sparkling mineral water. Works equally well; avoid tonic water, whose quinine is bitter against the plum.
dried osmanthus flowers → 1 thin strip of dried tangerine peel (about 2 g). Adds a citrusy aroma instead of floral. Simmer it with the fruit from the start.