Red Bean, Hyacinth Bean and Old Cucumber Soup

Why people make this soup

When the weather turns hot and the air gets heavy with humidity, a lot of younger folks find their skin acting up — breakouts, eczema, that uncomfortable flushed feeling. In the food-therapy tradition this is often read as “damp and heat.” This old-cucumber soup is the kind of thing Nourilo reaches for in muggy season: it is light, savory, and traditionally thought to strengthen the spleen, drain damp, and cool internal heat, while being gentle enough to drink as a family soup.