Water Chestnut, Fig & Apricot Seed Lean Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

After a run of fried chicken, spicy hot pot, or late-night snacks, many people wake up with a parched throat and that sticky, unpleasant feeling that just won’t clear. This light, naturally sweet soup has been a go-to in Cantonese households for exactly that moment. Water chestnuts cool things down, figs moisten and soften the throat, and the classic nan bei xing (sweet and bitter apricot seed) combination does the quiet work of loosening stubborn phlegm. It is particularly well-suited to what Chinese medicine describes as “phlegm-heat” — a thick, hard-to-shift phlegm that comes with a warm or inflamed feeling rather than the watery, clear phlegm of a simple cold.