Cilantro, Ginger, Pickled Cucumber and Grass Carp Broth

Why people make this broth

There is a principle in traditional Chinese medicine that makes intuitive sense to most people: the sooner you act when a cold is coming, the faster you recover. The key is catching the illness at the “surface” stage — when you feel a slight chill, a scratchy throat, or that unmistakable sense of something coming on — before it pushes deeper into the body.

This broth is designed precisely for that moment. It takes about 10 minutes to make, costs very little, and uses ingredients you probably have at home: cilantro (with its roots), spring onion (with its roots), ginger, and a fillet of grass carp. The fourth ingredient — tea melon (cha gua), a sweet-brined pickled cucumber — is less commonly known outside of Cantonese households but is useful specifically when a sore, swollen throat is part of the picture. If you cannot find it, Nourilo suggests using a century egg (pidan) as a substitute, which has a similar cooling, heat-clearing effect.

The approach is to drink the broth hot, rest well, and drink plenty of water. Used at the right moment — the very beginning — this simple food can often shorten or soften a cold noticeably.