All soups › Heat-clearing
Night-blooming cereus (dragon fruit flower) soup with apricot kernels and pork bones
霸王花南北杏蜜棗豬骨湯
“Heaty? Then this is the pot.”
Ingredientsone pot, serves 4
百子櫃Bitter apricot kernel· a small amount only, must be cooked right through40 g (1 tael) of 南杏 and 北杏 combined
Method
- Soak the dried 霸王花 until soft, rinse it clean and snip it into lengths. Rinse both kinds of apricot kernel and the figs.
- Blanch the pork bones (飛水, a quick boil) to clear the bloody scum.
- Bring 3 litres of water to the boil over high heat and add everything.
- Once it returns to the boil, turn down to low heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
- Season with salt and it is ready.
Who it suits
- a phlegmy, heaty cough
- constipation
Who should take care
- be careful with a cold-type cough
- people with a weak, cold constitution should be careful
- 北杏 must be cooked right through and kept to a small amount
- people with gout or high uric acid should drink only a little, long-simmered meat soups are high in purines (general warning across this collection)
- pregnant women should be careful (北杏)
Soup stories
霸王花 also goes by the name 劍花, and it is the dried flower of a climbing cactus. Old Guangzhou boiled it with pork lung, which is the long-established 劍花豬肺湯.
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.