Grain Sprout, Malt and Corn Soup with Carrot, Water Chestnut and Fig

Why people make this soup

A child’s bad breath is rarely about oral hygiene alone. In Cantonese food therapy, persistent bad breath in children — especially when paired with poor appetite, a slightly yellowish complexion, or scanty stools — is often linked to food accumulation (shi ji): undigested food that lingers in the digestive tract, fermenting and producing a sour or unpleasant odour. Picky eating, too much meat, sweets and fried food, too little fruit and vegetables, and not enough water all contribute. Nourilo’s approach here is clever: the soup is naturally sweet, mild, and fragrant — the kind of soup that a child will actually want to drink. Corn on the cob with its silk (the fibrous strands), water chestnuts, figs, and carrot give it a beautiful golden sweetness, while grain sprouts and roasted malt gently support digestive enzyme activity and clear food stagnation from the inside.

Method

1. Rinse and soak the grain sprouts and roasted malt briefly.
2. Remove the husks from the corn but keep the silk strands. Cut into sections about 4–5 cm long.
3. Peel and slice the carrot and water chestnuts. Rinse the figs.
4. Place all ingredients in a pot with 2.1 L of water.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 1 hour.
6. Stir in a small amount of rock sugar at the end and let it dissolve.
7. Serve warm. The soup is naturally sweet and pleasant — most children will happily drink it.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is good for the whole family and can be served as an everyday digestive wellness soup, not only for children with bad breath. It helps ease stomach heat and restlessness, and also supports mouth sores (oral ulcers). For children with a cold constitution or cold hands and feet, this soup is still fine — you can add a small amount of tangerine peel (chen pi) to warm it slightly. Alternatively, use poria (yun ling), white atractylodes (bai zhu), and hyacinth bean coat (bian dou yi) as a simpler digestive wellness tea for the whole family.