Astragalus, Cinnamon-Twig and Spatholobus Chicken Soup

Why people make this soup

Some women run cold by constitution, with hands and feet that never quite warm up all year — especially office workers who sit in air-conditioning. Add cold drinks or too much cooling fruit in summer and the womb chills easily, which can bring uncomfortable, cramping periods and even achy joints on the stairs. This “astragalus, cinnamon-twig and spatholobus soup” is traditionally enjoyed to support qi and the body’s defences and to warm and move the blood — a kind choice for a cold constitution, irregular comfort during the cycle, and cold hands and feet.

Method

1. Soak and rinse the astragalus, cinnamon twig and spatholobus; pit the red dates; blanch the chicken breast.
2. Put everything in 2.4 L of water and simmer about 1.5 hours down to 1.2 L. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is best suited to people with a cold constitution. Those with yin-deficiency heat, pregnant women, and anyone with a fever or active cold should not drink it.