Making a Spring Heat Clearing Soup (to clear skin, dispel moisture, reduce bloating)
Soup Name: Making a Spring Heat Clearing Soup (to clear skin, dispel moisture, reduce bloating)
Traditional Chinese Name:
清熱去濕湯 (qīng rè qù shī tāng). The direct translation of this is “clear heat go away wet soup”. It’s quite literal. There are many versions of this soup as well that serve the same purpose, but in general, this is a Spring soup to help relieve the dampness and moisture from the body and potentially hotter weather. This is also great for summer in humid climates.
Nature: Cooling (some from the herbs, mainly from the cool pale or green radish)
Taste: Sweet and savory
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What ingredients are collagen-rich?
Spring Chinese soups are designed to align with the seasonal shift from the cold of winter to the warmth of spring, focusing on gently clearing the body of excess heat and moisture while revitalizing internal balance. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Spring is linked to the liver and renewal, making this a prime time to support detoxification, improve circulation, and ease the transition into warmer months. These soups often feature light, cooling ingredients such as all types of beans, barley, corn silk, watercress, goji berries—foods known not only for their nutritional value but also for their diuretic and heat-clearing properties.
The “cooling” aspect doesn’t refer to temperature, but rather to the energetic nature of the ingredients, which help reduce internal heat that can manifest as irritability, acne, or sluggish digestion. Diuretic ingredients support the body in shedding retained fluids and toxins accumulated over winter, aiding in de-bloating and refreshing the system. Unlike heavy stews of colder seasons, spring soups are clearer and lighter, making them ideal for restoring qi (vital energy) without overburdening digestion. Whether consumed daily or a few times a week, spring soups are a gentle yet powerful way to harmonize the body with the season’s energy.
Making a Spring Heat Clearing Soup (to clear skin, dispel moisture, reduce bloating)
What’s involved?
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 minutes (on high heat the stove) + 2 hours (in the thermal pot) or 1 hour on the stove on medium heat
Total time: 2 hours 45 mins
Serves: 8 bowls
Ingredients
- 500 g of fresh pork bones (any type, buy ones on sale!)
- 1 fresh chayote
- 1 fresh green (or pale) radish (the green ones)
- 2 fresh medium sized carrots
- 2 dried honey dates
- 2 slices of dried galbrous greenbrier rhizome
- 1 tablespoon of red beans
- 10 white hyacinth beans
- 1 tablespoon of fried barley (or raw barley)
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 4 L of water
Cooking Instructions
- Start boiling your soup water with 4L of water in your thermal pot (this is just being more efficient in time)
- At the same time, boil another pot of water from cold water that will be your blanching pot
- Rinse your pork bones under cool water to get rid or debris, bones, skin, and extra fat
- Drop your pork bone into the cold blanching water pot and set that on high heat to bring to a boil (you’ll see the blood start to seep out into the water, which is good! We are eliminating any water soluble parts from the bones)
- At this point, you can prepare your vegetables. Wash and peel the green radish (peel deeper as the skin is thick). Cut into large bite sized pieces (whatever you want). Wash and peel your carrots, and cut into 1-inch slices. Wash and cut your chayotes into quarters.
- When your blanching water boils, you can turn off the heat and let that rest. Optional to rinse under cool water to clean more.
- Throw your herbs into a soup bag (this step is also optional, but I do this to keep the ingredients together).
- Once your soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
- Cover and boil on high heat for 30 minutes.
- At 30 minutes, turn off the stove and then put the pot into its thermal pot for another 2-3 hours, or continue boiling on the stove for another 2 hours on medium.
- If it’s in the thermal pot, you can remove it before service, reheat on high heat, serve and enjoy!
- Serve the pork bones with soy sauce. So yummy!
EQUIPMENT USED
To answer your questions on what equipment I’m using, I’ve built a section here where you can find and explore what I’m using to make soups. Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around. However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!
A great help for fish or small bones in soups, including small ingredients such as barley, fox nuts, spices just to keep everything together.
A MUST HAVE in the kitchen! Energy saving, cost effective, and perfect for busy chefs! Check out my article here that explains it.
Another MUST HAVE in the kitchen for soups! It’s so fine that it will scoop off the top oil and foam layer when using meats in your soup!
You can buy the exact dried herbal ingredients in this soup pack here! This is what I am using for this soup!
CHECK OUT OTHER DAMP DISPELLING RECIPES
TCM Tea for Dampness, Eliminate Bloating, Sluggishness & Water Retention
Collagen Boosting Spring Chinese Soup with Pig Trotters in Lotus Root and Corn
How to make a radish and carrots Chinese soup
How to make a damp-heat and fever clearing cooling herbal tea
How to clear damp-heat with this Chinese herbal rice and beans tea
How to make a Spring bitter melon Chinese herbal soup to eliminate damp-heat
How to make a Spring Lotus Root and Sweet Corn with Carrots Chinese Herbal Soup (for Dispelling Dampness and Heat)
How to make an Apple Cinnamon Chinese Herbal tea for Eliminating Damp-Wind and Damp-Heat
How to make vegetarian green and white radish carrot Chinese herbal soup packs
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