Astragalus Codonopsis Soup

Why people make this soup

Quite a few people — women especially — notice a “hot above, cold below” pattern: an irritable, flushed feeling up top with a dry mouth, mouth ulcers and a parched throat, while down below they get cold hands and feet, a cold belly and a sense of internal chill. Nourilo notes that for this kind of constitution it helps to favour spleen-supporting foods. Today’s astragalus-codonopsis soup is built mainly on gentle, spleen-strengthening, qi-moving herbs — well suited to this pattern in cold weather.