Corn, Lotus Seed & Lily Bulb Vegetarian Soup

Why people make this soup

Office workers eating out tend to get plenty of meat and little veg, says Nourilo — and even the “vegetarian” dishes can be heavy on oil. So at home it is worth skipping the meat now and then and building a soup purely from nourishing vegetable ingredients. Fresh corn, chestnuts and lotus seeds are wonderful for soup, and when you add lily bulb, red-skin peanuts and red dates, you have a pot that supports blood, nourishes the complexion and gently calms the mind.

Method

1. Husk and cut the corn; remove cores from the fresh lotus seeds; rinse the lily bulb and red-skin peanuts; blanch the chestnuts briefly in boiling water to remove skins; pit the red dates.
2. Put everything in a pot with 2.4 L of water.
3. Simmer about 1.5 hours until reduced to 1.2–1.5 L. Serve, eating the solids too.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is fragrant, sweet and tasty, fine for young and old. It is especially helpful for those who are anaemic-prone, pale in the face, or sleeping poorly.