Dried Persimmon and Black Fungus Soup

Why people make this soup

Dried persimmon comes in different varieties — the familiar round, flat domestic cakes and a softer, sweeter variety shaped like a chicken’s heart — and both are worth trying. The softer kind is especially popular with children. In tradition, dried persimmon is regarded as supporting the upright qi and as gentle on the lungs and spleen, and it has long been used to ease coughs, chronic intestinal upset and the bleeding of hemorrhoids. Today’s recipe is one such gentle dish.