Du Jiao Jin (Striga) and Lean Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

Walking past an old Chinese-medicine shop in Sai Ying Pun, I spotted du jiao jin — a little wild herb that grandparents once reached for when a child had “gan ji,” that classic picture of poor appetite and a cranky, sluggish tummy. It’s less familiar today, but it has a quietly sweet, mild taste that children don’t mind, and tradition credits it with clearing liver heat, easing food stagnation, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Simmered with a little lean pork, it makes a soup that’s been used for generations to settle a child’s digestion.