Ingredient Name:

Chestnuts, sweet chestnuts, chinkapin

Traditional Chinese Name:

栗子 (lì zǐ)

Nature:  warm in nature (and even warmer when they are processed such as roasted), although is considered “moistening” and targets the spleen, stomach, and kidneys.

Taste:  Sweet in taste

You can get started on your Chinese Soup Kitchen Pantry from this video!  With chestnuts, you can use either fresh, roasted (the types that you can find in the winter that are roasting on the streets of Hong Kong!), or processed chestnuts that come in snack packs!

How do I prepare it?

• For fresh and raw chestnuts, I will extract the flesh from the chestnut itself with the backside of a butcher’s knife, halving them and gently removing the whole inner chestnut from its shell, including the skin, which is OK to eat.  The skin will also come off during soup boiling.
• I will also sometimes use prepared chestnuts (as snacks) because I just want something quick and easy.  This is a common Asian snack and the chestnuts are prepared as slightly sweetened, pre-cooked, and ready to eat!  These are perfect to keep in your pantry all your round.
• The last type of chestnut I will use are either roasted or boiled before I remove them from the shell for soup making.  The roasting ensures a toasty and increased nutty taste to the soup and the boiling will be salted.  It just makes them tastier.

Any benefits?

• Chestnuts nourish the spleen and stomach (when eaten in moderation) and also tonifies the Qi (especially Kidney Qi)
• Most nuts strengthen the brain (as a muscle, not necessarily as a function, but there is a correlation).  The common Chinese narrative that adults tell children is that walnuts and chestnuts will make you smart! 
• They also help slow bleeding and reduces inflammation in the body.

Looking to build your basic Chinese Soup Pantry?