Fresh Dendrobium, Goji Berry, Fresh Abalone, and Chicken Soup

Why people make this soup

Fresh baby abalone, once a luxury ingredient, is now much more accessible and available at fishmongers and Asian grocery stores year-round. When combined with fresh dendrobium orchid stems and goji berries, you get a soup that Cantonese families traditionally serve during recovery periods, to people with tired eyes or blurry vision, and to anyone who simply wants a beautifully nourishing meal to start the new year.

Dendrobium orchid (shi hu) is one of the premier yin-nourishing herbs in classical Chinese medicine. Unlike many tonic herbs, it has a delicate grassy flavour that works beautifully in a light soup rather than dominating it. The combination with goji and abalone creates a broth that is deeply savoury, naturally sweet, and genuinely restorative.