American Ginseng, Goji and Baby Abalone Soup

Why people make this soup

A friend gave Nourilo some American ginseng roots, which he had the herbalist slice thin for tea — rich and full of ginseng flavour. In the traditional view, American ginseng and dendrobium are well regarded for people living with diabetes: they’re said to nourish the stomach-yin, clear stomach heat and generate fluids to relieve thirst. This soup builds on that, traditionally used to nourish the liver, brighten the eyes and ease thirst — a comforting bowl for people who deal with blurry vision, dizziness or aching lower back and knees.

Method

1. Soak the baby abalone until soft, remove the gut, then blanch. Blanch the lean pork. Soak and rinse the goji berries.
2. Put everything except the American ginseng into a pot with 2.4 L of water.
3. Simmer about 2 hours.
4. Add the American ginseng slices and cook about 5 more minutes. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is also beneficial for people with liver conditions and can be taken regularly. If you don’t have dried baby abalone, frozen fresh abalone or dried sea whelk (xiang luo) work just as well.