Chicken egg (hard-boiled)
The ordinary hen's egg, used in Cantonese soup work hard-boiled and shelled, then returned to the pot to simmer in the liquid. It soaks up the surrounding sweetness (longan, lotus seed, red date or mulberry-mistletoe tea) while adding gentle protein richness. A staple of sweet soup-teas rather than savoury boils.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet Meridians · lung、spleen、stomach
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy the egg is used to nourish yin, moisten dryness, replenish blood and calm the spirit, a gentle everyday tonic with few restrictions.
Cautions: read first
- Avoid if you are allergic to eggs
- Those with high cholesterol should keep the portion moderate, as their doctor advises
Preparation
Hard-boil and shell them first, then put them into the pot to simmer with the soup (the method for longan, lotus seed and egg soup, and for mulberry mistletoe, lotus seed and egg tea).
Origin
Raised on egg farms nationwide for the domestic market
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
