Hawthorn, Malt & Radish Digestive Soup

Why people make this soup

Around Lunar New Year, friends and relatives come home from all over and there are endless gatherings out at restaurants. To make dishes look glossy and taste richer, kitchens often flash-fry the ingredients in oil — vegetables, tofu, meat, all of it — something we rarely do at home. After a few of those meals the body has absorbed a lot of oil, and when too much rich food piles up, the stomach can’t keep pace; you get that stuffed, stagnant feeling, discomfort and a flat appetite. This soup is the old answer: a gentle brew to move things along and give the digestion a rinse.

Method

1. Peel and chunk the green radish; pit the red dates.
2. Cut the lean pork and blanch it briefly.
3. Soak and rinse the remaining herbs.
4. Put everything in 2.1 L of water and simmer for 1 hour until reduced to 1.2 L.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup moves qi and clears accumulation, and it also helps children with food stagnation. Pregnant women should not take it.