Kudzu, Three-Bean and Pork Rib Soup

Why people make this soup

Hong Kong people work some of the longest hours of any major city, and that hard grind can leave the shoulders and back tense and sore and the mind under pressure. When summer arrives, sticky sweat and an irritable mood make it worse. Nourilo says this is exactly when a pot of kudzu soup is ideal — cooked long enough, it is clearing yet not draining, encourages a light sweat without over-sweating, and is gentle on the kidneys.

Method

1. Tear off the kudzu skin, wash and cut into chunks. Peel and chunk the carrot. Soak and rinse the three beans and tangerine peel. Pit the red dates. Blanch the pork ribs.
2. Put everything in a pot with 2.7 L of water and simmer for 2 hours until reduced to 1.2–1.5 L.

Nourilo’s Tips

Kudzu soup is ideal in summer for those battered by heatwaves, with headache, fever or sore shoulders and back. The black-eyed beans can be swapped for hyacinth beans. This soup is clear and sweet, suitable for young and old.