文火慢熬 有甜有苦将病除 | 中国凉茶 Chinese Herbal Tea

数十年前，八打灵再也17区（Section 17, Petaling Jaya）有一家豪华戏院，路旁摊位林立，白天是巴刹，午后直至深夜则是美食街，满足社区居民生活需求。戏院于1997年焚毁后，夷为停车场，2014年才兴建新项目——Seventeen 住宅连商场。如今灵市政府在建筑旁盖有遮雨棚的空间，让摊贩们无需遭受日晒雨淋。不少摊贩扎根此地40余年，见证社区风貌变化，居民日常都爱光顾，「中国凉茶」便是其中之一。

「中国凉茶」摊主魏义伯叔叔年届七旬，来自柔佛州武吉哈逢（Bukit Kepong）。他17岁时只身北上雪隆区，向在东南亚花园（SEA Park）的周天生师父学习武术和跌打。周师父平时摆摊卖凉茶，也将师门传承的配方倾囊相授，让魏叔叔到附近的17区自己摆摊谋生计。所卖的凉茶有：五花茶、罗汉果、夏枯草和苦茶（又称王老吉），还有龟苓膏。苦茶添加药粉饮用，可帮助缓解身体不适。后来魏叔叔进修了中医学位，再根据中药功效与药理作用对配方做出一些调整。

卖凉茶是劳碌一整天的体力活儿，魏叔叔从早上八点就开始在屋后的厨房里准备熬煮，每种凉茶各一大锅。以前使用烧柴灶，火候不稳定，需密切留意并添柴；现已改用煤气，火候稳定，魏叔叔可以在长达数小时的熬煮过程中抽身，到屋前的跌打诊所治疗伤患。下午三、四点，凉茶煲好了，是时候出摊了。他往返美食街与家中几趟，分别运送凉茶、桌椅以及流动摊位。妻子也前来帮他设摊和销售，期间若有伤患登门，他便回到家中进行诊治。凉茶每天新鲜制作，卖完为止，以前营业至深夜，近年则大约晚上十点收摊。

魏叔叔一贯的形象是身穿白衣，凉茶摊位使用白底红字的招牌，从年轻到老一直维持这般样貌。40余年来，他日复一日，风雨无阻在17区里做生意，居民但凡头疼脑热都会前来喝一杯凉茶。还有不少熟客曾就读马来亚大学，从莘莘学子喝到为人父母，每当见到魏叔叔夫妻都会亲切地唤一声“师傅”、“师母”。有盖巴刹兼美食街落成后并未设用餐座区，魏叔叔夫妻自掏腰包添购桌椅，给四周的摊贩和想坐下用餐的食客行个方便，也不计较这额外付出的心力。若食客能点一杯仅RM2.50的凉茶，聊表支持足矣。

莫看魏叔叔外表不苟言笑，他的行为正直无私，所卖的凉茶真材实料、价格公道，才得以融入原本陌生的社区，于此立足多年。一杯杯的凉茶，在促进身体健康之余，也维系着魏叔叔与社区居民之间的感情，俨然是这座城市里华人新村的一道美景。

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【凉茶小知识】

凉茶发源于岭南，即广东、广西、海南、香港及澳门地区。由于地处亚热带季风气候区，气候潮湿炎热，湿与热合并入侵人体，容易蕴结为病。凉茶正是以中医药理论为基础，以草药配制成，应用于预防或改善湿热症状的保健饮料。凉茶配方可分为单方和复方，即一种药材熬制和多种药材熬制，选用的草药大多具有清热解毒、利湿健脾的功效，如金银花、夏枯草等。

熬制凉茶讲究火候和时间的把控，需要将草药煎煮至恰到好处，既不能过火失去药效，也不能火候不足影响功效。把草药和清水放入锅内，煮沸后转用文火慢慢煲，至少三小时。煲好以后，还要焗上一段时间，等待药材的味道渗出，凉茶色泽变得浓郁，才算是大功告成。

凉茶不仅是一种饮料，它承载着千年的中医药理，是源自民间的养生智慧。饮用凉茶调理身体、防病保健是岭南民俗文化的一大特色。随着先辈移居位于热带的东南亚，凉茶因功效显著而广泛流传，不管任何籍贯或族群都能喝。不同的凉茶颜色或浅或深，味道或清甜或苦涩，每一杯都装满对身体的关怀。

A few decades ago, there was a Sentosa Cinema in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. In its immediate surroundings, there were plenty of roadside stalls, a wet market by day and a food court by night, fulfilling the community’s living needs. After the cinema burned down in 1997, the site became a carpark, until Seventeen residence and mall was constructed in 2014. Beside the building, Petaling Jaya city council offered a sheltered space for the hawkers, many of whom had been there for over four decades, standing witness to the changes in the neighbourhood, and frequented by local residents. Among them is Chinese Herbal Tea.

The stall owner, Uncle Ngui Pong, is in his seventies. Hailing from Bukit Kepong in Johor, at 17 years old he moved to Selangor to learn martial arts and Tit Tar from Master Chow Tin Sang in SEA Park. Master Chow sold herbal tea for a living, and taught Uncle Ngui the traditional recipes for him to start his own business at the neighbouring Section 17. There are a few types of herbal teas: Five Flower Tea, monk fruit tea, Prunella vulgaris tea, and bitter tea (also known as “Wong Lo Kat”). One may opt to add Chinese medicine powder to bitter tea, to help relieve bodily discomforts. Later on, Uncle Ngui studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, and made minor adjustments to the recipes according to the therapeutic properties of medicinal herbs.

Selling herbal tea is a tedious task that takes up the entire day. At 8AM, Uncle Ngui starts preparing to boil herbal teas in the kitchen at the rear of the house, one large pot of each type. In the past, he used charcoal stoves, the heat was not stable, hence requiring close attention and the need to add firewood. Now that he uses gas stoves, the heat is stable, and Uncle Ngui is able to make time throughout the several hours of boiling to attend to patients who visit his Tit Tar clinic. Around 3PM to 4PM, the herbal teas are ready, and it is time to set up the stall. He travels back and forth between the food court and his house to bring the herbal teas, tables and chairs, and the stall itself. His wife also helps him to set up and do sales. Meanwhile, if there are patients, he returns to the clinic at home to attend to them. The herbal teas are prepared fresh daily and sell out. Uncle Ngui used to sell until late night, but in recent years he closes around 10PM.

Uncle Ngui usually sports white attire, the signboard of his stall is written in red on a white background, such is his appearance from youth to elderly. Day in, day out, he set up his stall in Section 17 regardless of the weather, the local residents drop by for herbal tea whenever they feel “heaty”. Many of his regular customers used to study at Universiti Malaya, and have been supporting him since they were students. Whenever they meet Uncle Ngui and his wife, they greet them with respect. The city council did not provide a dining area in the sheltered space for hawkers, therefore Uncle Ngui and his wife bought dozens of tables and chairs with their own money, providing convenience to fellow hawkers as well as customers, without demanding any return for their extra efforts. It would be great if customers could order a cup of herbal tea priced at RM2.50 as a gesture of appreciation.

(Full article: https://uniness.gallery/chinese-herba...)

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