Avoid Illness This Winter With A Traditional Korean Cure
Image Credit: bunni_fy/Instagram

In the wake of the pandemic, people are more health-conscious than ever and the demand for natural, effective immunity boosters is sky-high. Recently a content creator from South Korea has introduced the world to yet another ancient unknown cure in the form of Cheong. Johnny Kyunghwo Sheldrick shared a family recipe for the lemon-based cure-all on TikTok and went viral, amassing millions of views. This adaptation of his recipe adds in the benefits of ginger for an even more healthy result.

With just 2 ingredients, this was the soothing solution everybody had been waiting for and soon, people from all over the world were jumping on the cheong bandwagon. But even though it’s new to us, cheong has been around for a really long time. 

Cheong in Korean refers to any sweetened food in the form of syrups, jams or marmalades. This can also cover any type of sweet fruit preserve. In cooking, cheong is usually used as a base for warm drinks and is treated as a substitute for sugar in recipes. In fact, the first usage of the word was as another name for honey in the Korean royal court. It can also be used as a condiment and depending on what the base ingredients are, can be used as an alternative medicine.

The key part of this process is making sure the ratio of fruits and spices are exactly equal to that of sugar. The best way to do this to prep and chop all your base ingredients and then weigh out an equal amount of sugar. This balance is what ensures the safe preservation of the ingredients. The final syrup can then be used the same way as sugar to prepare a delicious and revitalising tea. 

Ingredients

  • Lemon 
  • Ginger
  • White Sugar
  • Brown Sugar

Method

  • Thoroughly wash and dry your lemons and peel the ginger. 
  • Cut the lemons into very thin slices, the thinner the better. And julienne the ginger.
  • Weigh out your lemons and ginger and then measure out an equal amount of sugar. You can use white or brown sugar or a mix of the two.
  • Pour ⅔ of the sugar plus the ginger and lemon into a bowl and mix thoroughly to coat all the lemon and ginger in sugar.
  • Transfer the mix to a glass jar and press it down. Use the remaining sugar to form a layer on top.
  • The next day mix it all together and your cheong is ready to use or store for later in the fridge.