How to Make a Warming and Healing Chicken Herbal Soup

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 2 hours
  • Servings: 2-3 bowls
  • p
    Traditional Chinese Name:  清雞湯 (qīng jī tāng)
  • Cooking Method:  Long boil, Double boil
  • TCM Nature:  Warm
  • Taste:  Salty, Sweet
  • Dietary:  Meats
  • Condition:  Temperature: Aversion to cold/wind (feel chills, want to cover up), Temperature: Cold limbs (hands and feet always cold), Sweating: Spontaneous sweating (sweat easily with little activity), Head & Face: Dizziness or vertigo, Head & Face: Pale or dull complexion, Stool & Urine: Loose stools or chronic diarrhea, Appetite & Taste: Poor appetite, no desire to eat, Appetite & Taste: Bland/no taste in mouth, Chest & Abdomen: Abdominal bloating after eating, Chest & Abdomen: Palpitations (awareness of heartbeat), Chest & Abdomen: Shortness of breath or sighing frequently, Chest & Abdomen: Stomach/abdominal pain relieved by pressure/heat, Pain: Dull ache (improves with pressure or rest), Sleep: Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep), Sleep: Restless sleep, waking frequently, Sleep: Excessive sleepiness, always tired, Emotions: Frequent worry, overthinking, or anxiety, Emotions : Feeling melancholy, sad, or prone to crying, Emotions: Lack of motivation, low mood, Emotions: Feeling easily startled or nervous, Tongue: Color – Pale, Tongue: Coating – White, Women's Health: Irregular menstrual cycle (early, late, unpredictable), Women's Health: Very little menstrual flow
  • Syndromes:  Qi Deficiency Patterns: General Qi Deficiency, Qi Deficiency Patterns: Spleen Qi Deficiency, Qi Deficiency Patterns: Lung Qi Deficiency, Qi Deficiency Patterns: Stomach Qi Deficiency, Qi Deficiency Patterns: Heart Qi Deficiency, Qi Deficiency Patterns: Sinking of Spleen Qi, Yang Deficiency Patterns: General Yang Deficiency, Yang Deficiency Patterns: Spleen Yang Deficiency, Blood Patterns: General Blood Deficiency, Blood Patterns: Heart Blood Deficiency, Cold Patterns: Cold in the Stomach, Cold Patterns: Cold in the Uterus, Mixed / Complex: Qi & Blood Deficiency
  • s
    Caution:  Have a fever or flu

How to Make a Warming and Healing Chicken Herbal Soup

清雞湯 (qīng jī tāng). The direct translation is clear chicken soup, although this soup name refers to a variety of chicken soups.  In general this name is for the clearest of chicken soups, although in this soup, it's drank without eating the herbs.

This is the soup for when you need more than comfort — you need to actually rebuild.

Four ingredients with one clear purpose: replenish Qi, nourish Blood, and support the Spleen and Lung after depletion. What separates this from a plain chicken and ginger soup is the codonopsis root — the gentle, broadly accessible herb that Chinese medicine practitioners reach for when someone needs sustained Qi-building support without the intensity of ginseng. Mild enough for everyday use, effective enough to have earned its place in the TCM pantry for centuries. This is a small pot with a big job — quiet, warming, and deeply restorative in exactly the way your body needs.

TIP:

The small volume of water in this soup means it is much more concentrated than a large family pot. This is intentional. The codonopsis in particular releases its Qi-building compounds slowly over a long simmer, and in a small pot those compounds are not diluted. The result is a broth that is almost medicinal in its concentration — which is exactly what a therapeutic individual-portion soup should be.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 2 hours
  • Servings: 2-3 bowls
  1. In a ceramic or glass pot, add in your fresh chicken, sliced ginger, dried red dates, and dried codonoposis root.
  2. Add in 4 cups of water and cover.
  3. Turn on the heat to high until that comes to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat to a low boil so that it barely bubbles and let that sit for 2 hours.
  5. Serve and enjoy!
  • Use a ceramic or glass pot.  This is the traditional way to boil and cook traditional Chinese medicine and herbs because these materials do not interact with the pot, where stainless steel or metal pots may.
How to build your Chinese soup pantry

The back story to this specific soup is that it was designed to:

  • Help recover and replenish post menstruation
  • Increase yang deficiency and rebalance the body
  • Warm the body and improve blood and Qi flow
  • Support older women and men to harmonize yin and yang in the body (especially women 40+ and men 50+)
  • Reduce stress and relax the shen (spirit)

You can explore this article on "what it means to have cold hands and feet" and how this soup can help!

Would love to hear if you have any further suggestions and thoughts in the comments below!

The variations

There are so many variations of this soup available! You can also add all these other ingredients to change it up. They are all warming, so it essentially keeps the nature of the soup.

Codonopsis roots (dang shen 党参) help boost qi, strengthens spleen and lungs, and supports immunity. This herb is sometimes referred to as "poor man's ginseng" as it's most cost effective, but less stimulating. It slowly rebuilds energy, especially for busy, stressed people.

Reishi mushrooms (ling zhi 灵芝) help calm the mind, nourish heart and lung qi, support immunity and resilience. Reishi helps with emotional calm and restful sleep, while the body rebuilds strength.

Dang gui helps to tonify and nourish blood, improve circulation, and warms the body. It is sometimes called “The women’s herb” because it is famous for supporting menstrual health and recovery.

Dried tangerine peels help move qi, harmonizes digestion, clear dampness, clears phlegm from the body. It helps your body digest the soup, absorb nutrients, and prevents heaviness or bloating.

 

How to make a warming Chinese herbal tea to reduce blood pressure and improve Qi

Reishi mushrooms are wonderful for nourishing the heart and lungs, also often used for overall maintaining good health.

Dried lotus seed

These codonopsis roots from Amazon are a good choice to add to this soup. I will add 1-2 pieces in 8-10 cups of water soup.

dried tangerine peel

I also get my dried tangerine peels from either Amazon or from souperwell (both highly reliable sources) here.

I also get my dried red dates from either Amazon or from souperwell (both highly reliable sources) here.

Some or all of these links may contain product referral links; as an Affiliate of different brands, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. If you decide to use them, I would be grateful. If not, I am always thankful for your continued support! ❤️

This is for educational purposes and to share traditional practices — always listen to your body and consult your healthcare provider if needed.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Find your soup 🍵