Adzuki Bean, Longan, Ginger, and Red Date Soup

Why people make this soup

Some degree of puffiness is normal in the days and weeks after giving birth — the body redistributes the extra fluid accumulated during pregnancy. But when a new mother is visibly swollen, pale, exhausted, eating poorly, and experiencing heart palpitations or a heavy, bloated feeling, traditional Chinese food therapy sees this as a pattern of blood and qi deficiency combined with fluid accumulation. The spleen — which in Chinese medicine governs fluid metabolism and the production of qi and blood from food — has been strained by the demands of pregnancy and labor.

This simple four-ingredient soup brings together adzuki beans (a traditional food-therapy staple for draining dampness and swelling), warming longan and ginger (to gently raise qi and warm the middle), and red dates (to support blood and calm the heart). The result is a warming, subtly sweet broth that is easy to prepare and gentle enough for a new mother’s depleted system.