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 jar and pour in about 1 litre of boiling water, just covering them. Put the lid on and seal the jar with cling film (traditionally 紗紙, mulberry paper). Stand it in a pot of boiling water, with the water coming a third to halfway up the jar, and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours, topping up with boiling water as you go. 石斛 stands up to long cooking and gives more flavour the longer it goes. Salt goes in last.
Snip the dried 石斛 (dendrobium) into pieces and soak it first. Soak the 螺頭 (sea whelk) until rehydrated, then blanch it (汆水, a quick boil to clean it) with ginger and wine to take off the sea smell.
Cut the lean pork into pieces and blanch. Rinse the 淮山 (dried Chinese yam), 杞子 (goji berries), 圓肉 (dried longan) and 蜜棗 (honey dates).
Put everything in the double-boil jar and pour in boiling water to just cover.
Seal the jar and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours.
Season with salt and it is ready.
Who it suits
long stretches of eye strain, dry or gritty eyes
late nights
dry mouth and dry throat
dry eye
dry skin
Who should take care
not suitable for people with cold, weak digestion (脾胃虛寒) or heavy damp with a thick tongue coating
avoid while a cold has not fully cleared
pregnant women should check with a practitioner first
gout sufferers take care (purines from 螺頭 and other seafood)
Soup stories
A screen-age double-boil for tired eyes. 石斛 is the most fashionable of the yin-nourishing, eye-brightening herbs in traditional use right now, and it is paired with 螺頭 to double that effect. It is a standing item at double-boil shops and with soup-pack brands, such as SoupPapa’s 020 fresh 石斛 and 螺頭 yin-nourishing soup.
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.