Common carp
The common carp, a large freshwater fish cooked whole for soup after gutting, descaling and stripping the black belly membrane. Fried with ginger and then simmered, it gives a hearty broth traditionally matched with black-eyed beans and dried tangerine peel. Its folk role is the water-moving soup of late pregnancy. Carp is a pest species in Australia and no shop stocks it, so use a whole silver perch or two or three small bream.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet Meridians · spleen、kidney
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy carp is used to strengthen the spleen, promote water metabolism and reduce swelling, with folk tradition also giving it to nursing and expectant mothers, the latter after advice.
Cautions: read first
- Those with gout should avoid it
- Folk tradition uses it for swelling in pregnancy (black-eyed bean, dried tangerine peel and carp soup), but pregnant women should seek advice before drinking it
- Fish are traditionally counted as a stirring food (發物), one said to aggravate existing conditions, so use your own judgement during a skin flare
Preparation
Clean and scale the fish and strip the black membrane from the belly cavity, then fry it with ginger until fragrant before boiling.
Origin
Freshwater pond farming nationwide (Yellow River carp is the most celebrated historically). Common carp is a pest species here and no Australian shop stocks it. Use one whole silver perch (銀鱸) or two or three small bream, fried golden and finished with boiling water. Note that the traditional water-draining reason for choosing carp does not carry across to any Australian fish
Availability in Australia
Herbal shops / specialists
