Hairy Gourd, Garlic & Loach Soup

Why people make this soup

Loach may look like an unremarkable little freshwater fish, but it’s long been nicknamed the “ginseng of the water.” In tradition it’s valued for nourishing the blood, supporting iron levels, looking after the heart and blood vessels, and supplying calcium for the bones — and it’s particularly associated with supporting people whose liver function has weakened. Loach is traditionally used to nourish yin, ease thirst and clear damp-heat, and is a classic choice for liver-care soups. Here Nourilo pairs it with hairy gourd, garlic and lean pork — a soup traditionally considered helpful for those with hepatitis or damp-heat jaundice.

Method

1. Scrape the skin off the hairy gourd and cut into chunks.
2. Peel the garlic cloves; blanch the lean pork.
3. Put the loach in a soup-bag, dip it briefly into boiling water, then pour out and rinse off the slime; pan-fry in a little oil until fragrant.
4. Add all ingredients to 1.8 L of water and cook for 40 minutes. Eat the soup along with the ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

Loach is fiddly to clean — its surface is very slimy. My method (bagging and blanching) saves time and effort; you can also blanch first, then remove the head and innards. That said, freshwater stalls often put pieces of fried tofu puff in the water so the loach eat and expel the filth in their bellies, so you may not need to gut them. This soup is also traditionally considered helpful for children with night sweats or nutritional swelling.