All soups › Nourishing tonics
Lotus root, walnut, chestnut and black bean soup
蓮藕合桃栗子黑豆湯
“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”
Ingredientsone pot, serves 4
Method
- Toast the black beans in a dry wok (白鑊, no oil) until the skins crack slightly and they smell fragrant.
- Peel the lotus root and cut it into thick pieces. Peel the skins off the chestnuts.
- Blanch the pork bones (飛水, a quick boil to clear the scum). Soak the dried tangerine peel until soft and scrape off the white pith.
- Put everything in the pot with 2.5 litres of water and bring to the boil over high heat.
- Turn down to low heat and simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours, then season with salt.
Who it suits
- people with a sore lower back, traditionally read as kidney weakness
- people going grey early
- people who feel the cold
Who should take care
- not suitable for people with gout
Soup stories
This one follows the five-element logic that black foods go to the kidneys. In that tradition black beans are said to support the kidneys, walnuts to warm the lungs, and chestnuts to help the blood and qi keep moving.
From the same family
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.