Soup Name: Night Blooming Cereus and Figs in Pork Broth
Traditional Chinese Name: 霸王花無花果瘦肉湯 (bà wáng huā wú huā guǒ shòu ròu tāng)
Introduction:
This unique soup is ideal for removing heaty phlegm and nourishing the lungs. It is best for those with pathological heat and fire in their bodies, which makes it ideal to be consumed at the beginning of the autumn season to help clear heatiness from the body from the summer. The soup is slightly sweet, very refreshing and creates a clear broth that is easy to drink – however it is an old fire soup and requires quite a length of time to boil.
What ingredients are required?
1 pound fresh pork shank
40 g dried night blooming cereus
5 dried figs
5 honey dates
20 g apricot kernals
2-3 L of water
How do I prepare it?
- Soak night blooming cereus in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Boil your soup water
- In a separate pot of boiling water, blanch pork shank for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Rinse night blooming cereus in running water (to remove all the bugs)
- When soup water boils, add all the ingredients together.
- Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce to low heat and simmer for another 3 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
- Excellent in removing heat from the body
- Helps nourish and moisturize lungs
- Naturally sweet soup
Any precautions?
- Recommended to use a thermal pot instead of boiling the soup for the whole 3 hours
- Rinse night blooming cereus thoroughly as they have many bugs
- Relatively cooling soup to be consumed cautiously by menstruating women or women in their first trimester of pregnancy (as it may cause contractions)
