Goji berries: how to use?

[sequins]

I have a sizable bag of dried goji berries and little idea what to do with them. Suggestions?

[Pei]

You can steep them in boiling water for a few minutes, like with tea. Chinese drink this the way we drink ginseng tea, as a change of flavors from tea. It's supposed to be pretty healthy, etc.

A handful in plain chicken soup or chicken ginseng soup is standard, but won't really work if you've added Western chicken stock ingredients like carrots, celery, and onions or purchased storebought stock.

Snack on them like raisins and see if you like them. This works best if they're fresh and not dried out (like old raisins).

[amyzan]

My brother's Chinese ex-girlfriend used to put them in chicken soup with red dates and something else, maybe ginseng? I've seen them in granola mixes at the grocery, but haven't tried it yet. I've also seen them added to trail mix, but I've no idea what would complement them 'cause I've not tried that yet either! Worth some experimentation--you couldn't go wrong with almonds, pecans, and other dried fruits, I'd think.

[Pei]

There are any number of classic Chinese soup blends that have gojiberries as an ingredient. Some of the ingredients get pretty weird and exotic. I don't even know all the names in English. But yes, one chicken, stewed slowly with a few large pieces of ginseng and a handful of red dates, with a handful of gojiberries thrown in during the last ten minutes, is delicious. Salt to taste.

[sequins]

Thanks so much for your replies. I've just tried snacking on them and yes-- quite good, and chewier than I expected (they looked merely brittle). I also made tea with a handful, though didn't find that the flavor fully diffused into the water. I look forward to stewing chicken with these and red dates.

[Pei]

Of course, you can put more in your water if you like, but the flavor will always be a little like watered down tea rather than full on goji flavored. Just FYI.

[rworange]

I love wolfberries. The thing about tea (especially good in the eight treasures mix) is not only do they look pretty, but they plump up and taste better.

Here's an article on Chow
http://www.chow.com/ingredients/278

Here's some discussions when I first became enamoured by them a few years back. They are supposed to have a lot of health benefits as. the Chow article says

"Perhaps the most nutritionally dense fruit on the planet, wolfberries have traditionally been regarded as a food of the highest order for longevity, sexual potency, and building strength. "

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/23726
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/23705

Some ideas from the three links
- sprinkle on dry cereal ... seems like they'd be good in hot oatmeal too for a real health hit
- add like raisins to bread or muffin batters,
- add to stewed pork, beef, chicken, or fish 10 minutes before the meat is done
- chop and add to vinaigrettes
- added to salads like raisins or dried cranberries
- soy beans with tofu sheet noodles
- drop them in chicken soup or pork/herb soups
- trail mix w/ roasted black beans, raisins, peanuts, this qizi, sunflower seeds
- turtle and gou qi zi soup ... for that leftover turtle

Other than 8 treasures tea, margaret wrote "a standard combination is this qizi seed(about 8 or 10 seeds per cup), some dried red date(about 2 or 3), and a little chrysanthemum tea. No sugar is needed since the dried red dates has a little sweetness. This tea can be had daily if you wish. It is suppose to clear you system and rejuvenate"

Maybe mixed with yogurt or cottage cheese?

[sequins]

Thanks for these wonderful suggestions! I'm still getting used to the hint of bitterness in these berries, so using them in savory dishes sounds particularly promising.

[Pei]

And the bitterness goes away if you cook them for awhile, and the sweetness intensifies (not in a sugary way, but in a "Hey, this vegetable is sweet" kind of way).

[patz]

I eat them in the mornings, mixed w/ plain yogurt, berries, granola, and a little honey. I have some friends who make goji smoothies (i think they just blend it with milk for an easy breakfast) -- I've never tried it but they claim it's good!

[sequins]

Just had some this morning in my oatmeal with honey. Delicious! Indeed, as Pei explained above, the heat / moisture did seem to diffuse the bitteness and sharpen sweetness.