With winter well on it’s way, I can’t think of a better way to warm up after returning home from the cool outdoors than by drinking a warm Chinese soup — it will warm you from the inside out.
This one is relatively easy to make, is great for children and may be helpful as we are well into cold & flu seasons as there are mild benefits that may be helpful. The chicken soup base provides a nutritious base, while the apricot kernels help with phlegm expulsion (for those pesky coughs). In addition, the wolfberries are high in antioxidants, irons and vitamin A and C. The carrots and Chinese radish add sweetness and, if you eat them (which we hope you do!) are deliciously filling, too.
Hope you enjoy this soup and bundle up!
Soup Name: Chinese Radish and Chicken Soup
Traditional Chinese Soup Name: 青紅蘿蔔雞湯 (qing hóng luóbo ji tāng)
Another soup for the damp, wet spring season! You’ll find a recurring theme within Spring soups, mainly consisting of an assortment of beans and certain vegetables that are diuretic. This is a simple soup with a pretty strong “bean” taste – so use less beans if it’s for kids. Mine found it a bit too “beany” and didn’t really like it that much. Consider adding corn to sweeten it up, but the adults lapped it up. It’s an easy to drink soup that is excellent for our health during this time of the year, especially when it’s wet and humid. You can also use chayotes, onions and fish for variation.
Soup Name: Old Cucumber and Carrots in Pork Broth
Traditional Chinese Name: 老黃瓜胡蘿蔔湯 (lǎo huáng guā hú luóbo tāng)
Old Cucumber and Carrots in Pork Broth
Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: LadyTong
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 pound of [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/pork-shank/”]fresh pork shank[/url], cut and blanched
1 large [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/old-cucumber/”]old cucumber[/url], washed and largely cubed (with skin)
2 large [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/carrots/”]fresh carrots[/url], peeled and largely cubed
40 g [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/lentils/”]lentil[/url]
40 g [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/azuki-beans/”]red beans[/url]
1 small piece of [url href=”http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/tangerine-peels-dried/”]dried tangerine peel[/url], cleaned
2 L of water
Instructions
In a small pot of boiling water, blanch your pork for 5 minutes. Scoop out and rinse of any excess foam.
Start boiling your soup water.
Prepare old cucumber and carrots. Keep the peel for the old cucumber to prevent disintegration.
Soak the dried tangerine peel in warm water for 5 minutes and with a sharp knife, scrape the outer peel (where it’s darker in color) to remove the outer layer of the skin (which is most bitter).
When you soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce to a medium boil for another 1.5 hours.
This soup is an easy and sweet soup that is perfect to warm you up on a chilly autumn or winter’s day. Chicken is considered to be very nourishing (補) and can give your body a good kick of healthy heartiness (this is similarly recognized by Westerners who drink chicken noodle soup when sick). To sweeten the soup, red dates are added. We also suggest adding a palmful of wolfberries to boost the qi or “chi” which is ideal for cool weather. Carrots round out this simple yet delicious soup. You can see from the photo that this recipe results in a rich, deeply-colored broth and I can assure you, it’s tasty, too! (Yes, I’m drinking as I type this post.) Depending on whether you use a fresh, whole chicken or alternatives, the difficulty of creating this soup can vary from 1-star (from pre-washed and cut chicken with minimal preparation) to 4-star (whole chicken from scratch).
Amount serves: 6 to 8 soup bowls
What Ingredients are required?
1 fresh whole chicken, quartered 5 large, dried red dates (to taste depending on how sweet you like your soup to be) 10 g of dried wolfberries (small palm-ful) 2 large fresh carrots, sliced 2L of water
How do I prepare it?
Prepare the chicken
Wash and soak the dried wolfberries
Add red dates to your soup water and bring to a boil
When the water boils, combine all the ingredients together
Boil on medium-high for at least 1 hour
Any benefits?
A warm soup that is perfect for autumn or winter
Chicken is very nourishing (補) and creates a healthful soup
Red dates are an excellent source of Vitamin C
Red dates are also used in throat-soothing drinks
Wolfberries are high in antioxidants and contain 6 essential vitamins, Beta-Carotene, Calcium, Potassium, Iron and Zinc
Wolfberries are also known to enhance the qi or “chi” in your body
Any tips or precautions?
Whenever using real, whole chicken, it’s useful to have an oil scooper on hand to help scoop out the fat and any large or small particles that float to the top of your soup. I usually need to use the scoop two or three times — once after the soup is fully boiled and still hot and there is an abundance of oil floating on the top, then once again after the soup has cooled slightly and you have additional oil and particles that have had time to float to the surface, and usually once again upon re-heating (possibly the next day).
Feel free to drink the same soup the next day after re-boiling. I like to make an extra big pot and any that isn’t finished can be drank and finished off the next day.
This simple, clean and very sweet soup is great for people with sore throats or heaty bodies. You can actually drink it cold or hot and it’s ideal for all seasons. I’ve decided to go meatless because I wanted to drink it cool and it turned out fabulous. Fat free, oil free and made with all natural ingredients, it’s great for kids and adults alike.
Any benefits?
Meatless soup is great for vegetarians and is fat and oil free
Soup Name: Ginseng Fruit and Gobo in Vegetable Soup
Traditional Chinese Name: 牛蒡人参果湯 (niúbàng rénshēn guǒ tāng)
Introduction:
A very clear and deep sweet soup that is extremely flavorful and rich in Vitamins. Both the ginseng fruit and the gobo root give this soup all the flavor it needs, so no meat is required. You can add a variety of vegetables to it like carrots, corn, chayotes, onions to make your soup creation. The great thing about using ginseng fruit is that the soup actually smells and tastes like ginseng, but without the hole in your wallet!
