Traditional Chinese Herbal Soup (as a Hot Pot Base)

by | Oct 27, 2022 | Confinement Soups, Fall Soups, Postpartum Soups, Videos, Winter Soups | 0 comments

Soup Name:

Traditional Chinese Herbal Soup

Traditional Chinese Name:

藥膳雞煲 (yàoshàn jī bāo)

This soup is warming in nature and sweet to taste.

 

For videos, visit us on YouTube.

This soup has a very distinctive smell and taste of a Chinese medicinal shop.  It’s definitely a love or hate initially, but can be acquired.  The key ingredient is the “dong quai” or “angelica root” that creates that fragrant (debatable?) scent.  I’ve learned to love it after so many years of being in Hong Kong and once you taste the soup, wow!

This soup is the ultimate warming winter hot pot delight.  You literally feel yourself getting hot and sweaty after one bowl.  It’s literally a powerful tonic that replenishes blood and Qi, improves circulation, and detoxifies the body.

 

What’s involved?
Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours 40 mins

Total time: 3 hours 10 mins

Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients
Soup base:

Hot pot ingredients:

 

  • fresh napa cabbage
  • assorted mushrooms
  • fresh hard tofu
This powerhouse healing ingredient is the key ingredient to your Chinese herbal soup!  The dong quai is warm, slightly sweet and slightly bitter, and a common herb used to promote warmth, replenish blood, and replenish yang.  This is why it’s such a common ingredient used in post partum and confinement recipes.  It’s also commonly used in healing tonics.

I will only use this ingredient for this type of herbal soup as it’s got a very distinct pungent scent and taste.  When combined with sweeter ingredients such as red dates and goji berries, it’s really quite delicious!

 

Cooking Instructions
  1. Add your dried herbal base directly into a pot and add in 3L of cold water
  2. Cover and boil on high heat for 30 minutes.
  3. Cut your chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces
  4. In a shallow pan, put them skin side down to render the fat out of the chicken and crisp up the skin (no oil needed!)
  5. Add salt and garlic to flavour as needed
  6. Once the soup is boiled for 30 minutes, you can move your crispy chicken to the soup.  I will usually rinse in warm water first to get rid of the extra oil, bone bits, and debris
  7. Cover and boil on medium for 2 hours (checking that it doesn’t boil over)
  8. At this point your soup is done!  You can drink as is or prepare to add your hot pot ingredients
  9. Prepare your hot pot ingredients an add to your soup
  10. Boil on high for 10 minutes
  11. Serve and enjoy!
  12. Drink your soup first with some of the ingredients added.  I won’t even begin the hot pot yet and just enjoy a soup as is!
Chef tips!
  • For your protein, use chicken (or pork).  This compliments the herbal base very well versus pork or red meats.
  • For your hotpot ingredients, use less intense flavor ingredients and ones that will absorb more the flavours of the soup such as leafy light coloured vegetables like napa cabbage or regular cabbage versus choy sum or gailan.  Tofu is a great additive as well and fresh mushrooms work well.
  • You can add udon or vermicelli as part of your meal
  • If you’re going to cook other meats or seafood, save that for the end as it will change the flavour of the herbal soup

For videos, visit us on YouTube.

Learn more about how these types of teas and soups can help improve your overall blood circulation and how you actually know that it’s working?

It’s not a perfect science (still working to perfect it), but I’d say the methodology and thinking is sound 🙂

Would love to hear your thoughts!

 

EXPLORE MORE

Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea

Tea Name: Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea Traditional Chinese Name: 雪梨蘋果菊花清熱茶 (xuě lí píng guǒ jú huā qīng rè chá)  Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food tastes!) For more...

Japanese Inspired Vinaigrette (for Beef Carpaccio or Salad)

Sauce Name: Japanese inspired vinaigrette (for beef carpaccio or salads or as an appetizers) Nature:  Warm (which is primarily the vinegar) Taste:  Sour and bitter and slightly sweet Targets: Liver and stomach   For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Yes! ...

6 Practical Applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Every Day Life

6 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN EVERY DAY LIFE(A TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE)Practicing and living in Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts isn't hard!  It's actually all about what you consume, when you consume it, your...

Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese herbal pork broth

Soup Name: Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese Herbal Pork Broth Traditional Chinese Name: 紅青蘿蔔湯 (hóng qing luóbo tang) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and savory For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.My parents came home last night from a cruise...

Hot and slightly spicy Korean Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (soup)

Soup Name: Korean  Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (Soup) Nature:  Cool (although could be warmer depending on how spicy you make it, but this is driven by the cooling white radish and tofu) Taste:  Sweet, Salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.I know there's a...

Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea

Tea Name: Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea Traditional Chinese Name: 雪梨蘋果菊花清熱茶 (xuě lí píng guǒ jú huā qīng rè chá)  Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food tastes!) For more...

Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese herbal pork broth

Soup Name: Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese Herbal Pork Broth Traditional Chinese Name: 紅青蘿蔔湯 (hóng qing luóbo tang) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and savory For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.My parents came home last night from a cruise...

Hot and slightly spicy Korean Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (soup)

Soup Name: Korean  Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (Soup) Nature:  Cool (although could be warmer depending on how spicy you make it, but this is driven by the cooling white radish and tofu) Taste:  Sweet, Salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.I know there's a...

Chinese-Styled Cream of Corn Egg Drop Soup

Tea Name: Chinese-Styled Cream of Corn and Egg Drop Soup Chinese Name:  玉米湯 (yù mǐ tāng)   Nature:  Warm Taste:  Sweet, Salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.There are as many versions of a Chinese-styled corn and egg drop soup as there are likely ABC...

Oh how I love thee, my salted orange! Let me count the ways…

Tea Name: The Salted Orange Traditional Chinese Name: 鹽蒸橙子 (yán zhēng chéngzi) Nature:  warm Taste:  sweet, salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.What?  Salted oranges? Let's start by saying that if you see a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor (and even...

GIVE YOUR LOVE OF SOUP.

FOLLOW US AND SHARE.

ON YOUTUBE

ON INSTAGRAM

ON FACEBOOK