Fresh Burdock, Rice Bean and Mung Bean Soup

Why people make this soup

Burdock tea bags are common in supermarkets, but Bro Niu prefers fresh burdock root — and the thinner kind, which is more fragrant and effective. Fresh burdock is available at Chinese or Asian grocers. Burdock is traditionally valued for supporting the liver and the heart-and-blood vessels, with a cooling, anti-inflammatory reputation. Simmered with rice bean and mung bean, it makes a clean pot traditionally drunk to clear heat — and often given when a child has swollen, inflamed glands (such as with mumps).

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• The whole family on hot days, to help clear summer heat
• Traditionally given to support a child through swollen, inflamed glands and used as a preventive for skin sores and heat rashes
• Being cooling, very young children should have it in moderation; if a child is genuinely unwell, see a doctor

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Fresh burdock root (xian niu bang): traditionally associated with supporting the liver, easing inflammation, and helping with skin and circulatory health
• Rice bean (chi xiao dou): traditionally used to drain dampness and clear heat
• Mung bean (lü dou): strongly associated with clearing heat and “detoxing”
• Honey dates (mi zao): round out the flavour gently

Ingredients (3–4 bowls)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Fresh burdock root	~150 g	Scrubbed clean with skin on, sliced
Rice bean	~38 g	Soaked and rinsed
Mung bean	~75 g	Soaked and rinsed
Honey dates	2	Rinsed

Method

1. Scrub the burdock clean (keep the skin) and slice. Soak and rinse the beans. Rinse the honey dates.
2. Add all ingredients to 7–8 bowls of water and simmer for 1 hour, reducing to 3–4 bowls. Serve.

Bro Niu’s tips

Clean and pleasant, and drunk on a hot day it traditionally helps clear summer heat — fine for the whole family. It is also associated in folk use with helping prevent skin sores and heat rashes.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Amy): Can my 2.5-year-old drink this soup, or is it too cooling? His mum gives him fried and baked “heaty” foods almost every day — any cooling soups you’d suggest? Bro Niu: You can simmer tai zi shen (~11 g) and yu zhu (~11 g) with apple, snow pear, dried figs and lean pork — the whole family can drink it; it supports the spleen, boosts qi and clears heat. Or make a sugar water of imperata root (mao gen), cane sugar (zhu zhe), water chestnut and carrot, which traditionally clears dryness-heat from the liver, lungs and stomach.
• Q (Vivian): My 1-year-old daughter has a cold that won’t clear — what soup can I make? Bro Niu: You can simmer night-blooming cereus (ba wang hua), north-and-south almond and dried figs with lean pork to clear lung heat and support immunity; or a tofu-and-fresh-fish soup. If the throat is sore, use green radish, snow fungus, almond and figs with lean pork — the family can share. Give plenty of warm water and avoid ice cream, salad and other raw, cold foods and sweets.
• Q (reader): Can I add green and red radish? Bro Niu: Yes, you can add carrot.

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Published July 4, 2024 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.