Chen Pi/Aged Tangerine Peel

How to make Chen Pi at home:

Dried tangerine peel is very easy to make. When eating mandarins or oranges, peel them carefully to avoid breaking the flesh. If the juice gets onto the peel, it can cause the peel to spoil during storage. Then simply place the peels in the sun for one or two days until they are completely dry. 

Once dried, the peels can be used immediately to make tea or add to soups. However, freshly dried tangerine peel is considered too harsh and drying in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It lacks the mellow qualities of well-aged peel and may be irritating to the stomach and intestines. 

Ideally, the dried peel should be stored for at least three years before it can truly be called aged citrus peel (Chenpi). The greatest challenge, however, is storing it properly over those years to prevent mold and preserve its medicinal properties. 

Authentic Chenpi (aged tangerine peel) comes exclusively from the peel of citrus fruits grown in Xinhui, Guangdong Province, China. The following photos show genuine Xinhui Chenpi and highlight how it differs from ordinary aged citrus peel. 

Is it ok to dry the peel in an air fryer?

The therapeutic properties of Chinese herbs are closely related to their nature (temperature) and flavour. The reason aged tangerine peel (Chen Pi) enters the Spleen meridian and promotes the movement of Qi while transforming phlegm is closely associated with its pungent, aromatic nature. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a pungent flavour disperses and promotes the movement of Qi, thereby helping to resolve fluid retention. Its aromatic quality enters the Spleen, strengthens the Spleen’s function, and assists in transforming dampness and phlegm. Chen Pi also has a slightly bitter taste, which contributes to its ability to dry dampness. 

Among all of its characteristics, however, its aroma is the most important, as it is this aromatic quality that gives Chen Pi its affinity for the Spleen meridian. 

For this reason, Chen Pi should never be dried at excessively high temperatures during processing. High heat causes its volatile aromatic compounds to dissipate, resulting in the loss of its medicinal properties. Drying citrus peel in an air fryer exposes it to continuous high-temperature circulating air, which rapidly drives off these essential aromatic components. Although the finished product may still resemble Chen Pi in appearance, it has largely lost the qualities that make genuine Chen Pi therapeutically effective.