Soups
Cordyceps Flower and Chayote Vegetable Soup
Traditionally used to support the body's natural defences
In short: Cordyceps Flower and Chayote Vegetable Soup is a soup that Traditionally used to support the body's natural defences. It is most often made for immune support, everyday balance. Total time about 1 hr 15 min. Key ingredients: cordyceps flower, lotus seeds, lily bulb, snow fungus.
Why people make this soup
Autumn and winter are the classic seasons for building yourself up, but Nourilo knows that some people run “yin-deficient with rising fire” — the moment they take a warming tonic, they feel heaty and out of sorts. They need something gentler. Cordyceps flower has long been called a “common-folk’s tonic”: affordable and mild in nature, traditionally taken to support the body’s defences and help fend off colds and seasonal sniffles.
Method
- Soak and rinse the cordyceps flower, lotus seeds, lily bulb and snow fungus.
- Peel and cut the chayote and water chestnuts into chunks.
- Add everything to 2.1 L of water and simmer for 1 hour, reducing to about 1.2 L. Serve.
Nourilo’s Tips
Light and gently moistening, this soup is traditionally said to strengthen the spleen, open the appetite, clear heat and help the body release fluids. It is suitable for all ages.
What studies say about the key ingredients
Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.
- Cordyceps flower
Compared with placebo capsules, the C. militaris group had greater increases from baseline in NK cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 and IFN-γ. No statistically significant adverse reactions were reported.Limitation: Only healthy men were studied, for 4 weeks, with 39 and 40 per group. Findings are immune-marker changes rather than clinical outcomes, and the capsules were an ethanol-treated preparation.PubMed 26284906 · 2 more cordyceps flower studies - Lotus seeds
Lotus seed meals had a low glycemic index (GI 21–51 across the lotus seed and adzuki bean meals), while several other starchy foods did not differ significantly from rice. Lotus seed's in vitro hydrolysis index was also lower than that of other test foods.Limitation: Only ten healthy participants and acute single-meal tests, so findings may not apply to people with diabetes or to long-term intake.PubMed 30875961 - Snow fungus
The Tremella fuciformis groups showed greater improvements than placebo in subjective memory complaint scores, short-term memory and executive function tests. Adverse event frequency was similar across high-dose, low-dose and placebo groups.Limitation: Small sample with only 15 people in the placebo group and a short 8-week duration; the brain imaging findings were exploratory.PubMed 29319408
From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.
Safety first — read before you cook
This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:
- are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
- take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
- have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.
Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes
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