Fresh Lotus Seed and Winter Melon Soup

Why people make this soup

Nourilo shares this soup around the “Slight Heat” solar term, when the weather stays relentlessly hot and the body — running at full tilt — is more easily troubled by heat and dampness. Melons and bitter foods are well suited to summer, and fresh lotus seeds are in season. The lotus seed is called the “fruit of the spleen,” and the green core inside — its tiny bitter embryo — is traditionally valued for clearing heat and calming the spirit. Cooked whole with winter melon, it makes a clean, gently bitter soup for clearing summer heat and quenching thirst.