nourishes yinnourishes the complexionnourishes bloodsupports the kidneysAutumnWinterAll yeardouble-boiled · 3.5 hoursA$22–88
“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”
Ingredients
百子櫃Fish maw (dried swim bladder)· dried 花膠 needs 1 to 2 days of soaking, with water changes or a boil-and-steep along the way2 to 3 pieces already soaked, about 150 g
Double-boiled (隔水燉, the covered jar stands in a pot of water rather than sitting on the heat): put the ingredients in a family-size jar and pour in about 1 litre of boiling water, just covering them. Seal with cling film (traditionally 紗紙, mulberry paper) and put the lid on. Fill the outer pot a third to halfway up the jar and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours. Double-boiling beats boiling here, because the 花膠 gives up its gelatine without dissolving away. Salt goes in last.
Soak the dried 花膠 (fish maw) ahead of time for 1 to 2 days, changing the water or steeping it soft in boiling water along the way.
Chop the 竹絲雞 (silkie chicken) into pieces and blanch it with the lean pork (汆水, a quick boil to clean off blood and scum).
Put everything in the double-boil jar and pour in boiling water to just cover.
Seal it with cling film, put the lid on and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours.
Season with salt before drinking.
Who it suits
women looking after their complexion
after childbirth
after surgery
an aching lower back and weak knees
Who should take care
avoid tonic double-boils while a cold has not fully cleared (general warning across this collection)
people with weak digestion may find it sits heavily
people with heavy phlegm damp should eat only a little
people with a protein allergy take care
gout sufferers take care, long double-boiled meat soups are high in purines
Soup stories
The queen of Hong Kong double-boils, the jar you buy for your wife, your mother, or a relative recovering from illness. It is a signature at double-boil shops all over town. 球哥燉湯 in Sheung Wan double-boils it a full 6 hours, 燉 in Lai Chi Kok sells 花膠螺片燉雞, and 蒸廬 sells a chestnut and 蟲草花 version with 花膠 and chicken.
moistens the lungssupports the kidneyssoothes cough3.5h slow fireWinter
百子櫃Cordyceps· 3 to 5 pieces百子櫃Teal (small wild-type duck)· 1百子櫃Dried fig· 2百子櫃Aged dried tangerine peel· a quarter piece街市Fresh ginger· 2 slices
“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”
Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.
問阿媽ASK AH MA
Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.