Korean Dandelion Root Tea

Quick answer

Total time: 32 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 6

About this dish

Mindeulle-cha is a Korean herbal root tea made by dry-roasting dried dandelion root and barley in a pot, then simmering them with water, sliced ginger, and licorice root for eighteen minutes.

The roasting step drives off the earthy rawness of the root and replaces it with a toasty, grain-like aroma, while licorice and ginger soften any remaining bitterness into a warm, rounded finish. Rice syrup stirred in at the end adds a malty sweetness that gives the tea more body and depth. Dandelion root contains inulin and choline, and it has been used in traditional Korean medicine as recorded in the Dongui Bogam to support liver function and digestion. Adding barley to the dry-roast blends in a cereal nuttiness that makes the tea more approachable than dandelion root brewed alone. Naturally caffeine-free, it can be sipped comfortably in the evening, and it chills well over ice for summer.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

dried dandelion root28 gg

barley10 gg

licorice root3 gg

fresh ginger8 gg

water1100 mlml

rice syrup1 tbsptbsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Step

Place twenty eight grams of dried dandelion root and ten grams of barley in a fine sieve, rinse briefly under cold running water, and then pat them completely dry.
2

Control

Preheat a dry pot over medium heat, add the prepared roots and barley, then reduce to low heat and roast for two minutes until a nutty aroma begins to fill the kitchen.
3

Heat

Pour eleven hundred milliliters of fresh water into the pot, then add eight grams of thinly sliced ginger and three grams of licorice root before bringing the mixture to a boil.
4

Control

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently for eighteen minutes until the tea turns a deep brown color and the medicinal properties are fully extracted into liquid.
5

Prep

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove all solids, then stir in one tablespoon of rice syrup while the tea is still hot until it is completely incorporated.
6

Finish

Serve the finished dandelion tea warm in mugs.

For a cold serving, let the steam subside at room temperature, then chill and serve.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Dry-roasting dandelion root drives off earthy rawness to create the toasty Mindeulle-cha.
Finish cue: Serve the finished dandelion tea warm in mugs.