Salabat

Ginger sliced and simmered long, not steeped, which is what makes it hot at the back.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 150 g fresh ginger, unpeeled, in thin slices
• 1.2 litres water
• 80 g muscovado sugar
• 2 tablespoons calamansi juice

Method

1. IT IS SIMMERED, NOT STEEPED. Ginger poured on with hot water tastes mildly of ginger; twenty-five minutes at a simmer is what brings out the heat that catches at the back of the throat, which is the point of salabat.
2. SMASH THE SLICES with the flat of a knife before they go in. Bruised ginger gives up far more than neatly cut ginger.
3. Leave the skin on -- washed, not peeled. Much of the character sits just under it.
4. Simmer the ginger in the water, uncovered, 25 minutes. It will reduce by about a quarter.
5. Stir in the muscovado off the heat and taste. It should be sweet enough to drink but still sharply hot.
6. Strain, add the calamansi, and serve very hot.
7. It keeps three days in the fridge and reheats without losing anything.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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