Soups
Night-Blooming Cereus, Carrot and Dried Duck Gizzard Soup
Traditionally used to moisten the lungs and ease autumn dryness
Why people make this soup
When autumn turns dry, a lot of folks notice their throat scratching and a tickly cough creeping in. Bro Niu likes this old-fashioned pot because dried night-blooming cereus, simmered slowly with carrot, fig and dried duck gizzard, makes a soup that feels clean and moistening — the kind of bowl you reach for on a crisp, dry evening. Fresh cereus is available, but it turns the broth slippery and is colder in nature, so for home cooking the steamed-and-dried flower is the gentler choice.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Suits people feeling the effects of dry autumn weather: dry-throat cough, or a stuffy mouth and constipation linked to too much smoking or drinking.
- Bro Niu notes this soup is even fine near the end of pregnancy, and is especially suited to those with lung-heat cough or constipation. As always, anyone with a serious or persistent condition should see a doctor.
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Night-blooming cereus (ba wang hua): traditionally associated with clearing heat, moistening the lungs, loosening phlegm and calming a cough.
- Carrot (gan sun) and figs (wu hua guo): add natural sweetness and are traditionally used to nourish and gently moisten.
- Apricot kernels (nan bei xing): traditionally paired to support the lungs and ease coughing.
- Dried duck gizzard (chen ya shen): a classic Cantonese soup ingredient said to support digestion and add depth to the broth.
Ingredients (3–4 bowls)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dried night-blooming cereus | ~75 g (2 liang) | Steamed-dried, gentler than fresh |
| Carrot | 1 | Peeled, cut in chunks |
| South & north apricot kernels | ~38 g (1 liang) | Culinary kind |
| Dried figs | 4 | |
| Dried duck gizzards | 2 | Blanched |
| Lean pork | ~150 g (4 liang) | Blanched |
Method
- Rinse the cereus, apricot kernels and figs. Peel and chunk the carrot.
- Blanch the dried duck gizzards and lean pork to clean them.
- Put everything in a pot with 8 bowls of water.
- Simmer about 3 hours until reduced to roughly 4 bowls.
- Drink the soup and eat the ingredients.
Bro Niu’s tips
This soup is clean and nourishing. Besides loosening phlegm and easing a cough, it is also traditionally said to help settle the kind of “phlegm-fire” lumps children sometimes get.
Community questions answered (selected)
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Q (reader): Can a woman drink this fresh-cereus soup near her due date? Bro Niu: Yes, it is fine close to delivery, and it is most suitable when there is lung-heat cough or constipation.
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Q (Jinjin): My child is hitting puberty and breaking out badly. Would this soup help? Bro Niu: Puberty brings a surge of hormones. For that you can simmer a squab soup with raw rehmannia (sheng di, ~19 g), mung beans (~38 g), 5 red dates and 2 slices of ginger, taken 2–3 times a week. Give it two or three weeks to show results.
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Q (reader, on nighttime cough): What helps a cough that comes at night? Bro Niu: Take 1 white radish, peeled and cut into strips, marinate it in 3 tablespoons of honey for about 5 hours — it will weep a lot of radish juice. Mix half a cup of that juice with half a cup of warm water and sip, 2–3 cups a day, to help loosen phlegm and calm the cough.
Published September 20, 2011 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.
