Yacon, Taro Stalk, Carrot and Pork Bone Soup (Xue Lian Guo Zhu Yu Xi Shi Gu Tang)

Why people make this soup

Yacon — sold in markets under the Cantonese name “Tianshan xue lian guo” (Tianshan snow lotus fruit) — looks like a sweet potato but tastes refreshingly sweet and juicy, almost like a cross between a pear and a water chestnut. What makes it particularly useful as a food-therapy ingredient is its high content of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a type of dietary fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria and has a low glycaemic impact. In Cantonese food-therapy tradition, it is associated with clearing heat, supporting the digestive system, and softening blood vessels — making it well suited to the dry autumn season when both heat accumulation and constipation tend to arise. Paired with cooling taro stalk and carrot in a long-simmered pork bone soup, the result is a naturally sweet, clean-tasting broth that the whole family can enjoy.