Soups

Dioscorea, Goji, Dried Scallop and Partridge Soup

Traditionally used to strengthen the spleen, nourish the lungs, and support children's immunity

In short: Dioscorea, Goji, Dried Scallop and Partridge Soup is a soup that Traditionally used to strengthen the spleen, nourish the lungs, and support children's immunity. It is most often made for respiratory & lung wellness, digestive wellness, children's wellness. Total time about 110 min. Key ingredients: chinese yam, goji berries, carrot, dried scallops.

Prep
20 min
Cook
90 min
Total
110 min
Makes
1.2–1.5 L
Dioscorea, Goji, Dried Scallop and Partridge Soup

Why people make this soup

When flu season arrives and the temperature drops, parents start thinking about how to help their children build resilience. In Chinese food therapy, the guiding principle is to use gentle, nature-based ingredients that nourish without over-stimulating — particularly for children, whose systems are still developing and can be thrown off balance by overly rich tonics. This soup uses partridge as the base — a bird prized in traditional practice for addressing chronic cough and spleen weakness in children — combined with the mildly strengthening Chinese yam, goji, dried scallop, and carrot. The result is a flavourful, nourishing broth that the whole family can enjoy, not just the children.

What studies say about the key ingredients

Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.

  • Goji berries · Meta-analysis, 161 participants · 2012
    Compared with placebo (n=80), the goji juice group (n=81) reported greater improvements in several self-rated symptoms, including stress, mental acuity, sleep quality and overall well-being, under a random effects model.Limitation: Outcomes were self-reported symptom questionnaires, and several symptoms showed significant heterogeneity across the four pooled trials of a single branded juice.PubMed 22897500 · 3 more goji berries studies
  • Red dates · Meta-analysis, 483 participants · 2025
    Jujube was associated with significantly lower BMI and triglycerides, and lower fasting blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. LDL and total cholesterol fell only in some subgroups. HDL, AST and ALT did not change significantly.Limitation: The authors state the overall quality of the evidence is limited, and results varied significantly by dose, treatment duration and disease type.PubMed 40399274 · 3 more red dates studies
  • Ginger · Meta-analysis, 23 studies · 2022
    Overall, acute and delayed nausea and vomiting did not differ significantly between ginger and control groups. A subgroup taking 1 g/day or less for over four days had less acute vomiting (OR 0.30).Limitation: Clinical heterogeneity between trials required subgroup analyses, and the authors state that sufficiently large, high-quality RCTs are still needed.PubMed 36501010 · 3 more ginger studies

From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.

Safety first — read before you cook

This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:

  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
  • take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
  • have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.

Ingredient notes for this recipe

  • Goji berries: A few cases of raised INR (a bleeding-risk marker) have been reported in people taking warfarin after drinking concentrated goji tea or wine. If you take a blood thinner, check with your doctor. Source: Memorial Sloan Kettering — Lycium

Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes

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