Double-boiled teal with cordyceps

Ingredientsone pot, serves 4

Method

Double-boil (隔水燉, the covered pot sits in a pan of simmering water): put the ingredients in the pot, pour in boiling water to about eighty per cent full, cover and double-boil for 3 to 4 hours.

1. Clean and dress the teal, chop it into large pieces and blanch it (汆水, a quick boil) to draw off the blood.
2. Rinse the cordyceps gently; soak the aged tangerine peel until soft and scrape off the pith.
3. Put everything in the double-boiling pot and pour in boiling water to about eighty per cent full.
4. Cover and double-boil (隔水燉, the covered pot sits in a pan of simmering water) for 3 to 4 hours.
5. Season with a little salt and it is ready.

Who it suits

• long standing cough and weak breathing
• poor appetite
• feeling weak after illness

Who should take care

• Do not take tonics while a cold has not fully cleared
• People with gout or high uric acid should drink only a little

Soup stories

Double-boiled soup is the refined version of the boiled pot, cooked slowly over water so the broth stays clear while the flavour runs deep. Cordyceps with teal is a well known winter tonic and convalescent soup, and the home version usually swaps cultivated cordyceps flower for the real thing.

From the same family

Double-boiled lean pork with ginseng and dendrobiumDouble-boiled chicken with cordycepsTen-treasure tonic chicken soup

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.