Soups

Lotus Leaf, Winter Melon, Adzuki and Hyacinth Bean Soup

Traditionally taken to clear summer heat and support fluid balance

In short: Lotus Leaf, Winter Melon, Adzuki and Hyacinth Bean Soup is a soup that Traditionally taken to clear summer heat and support fluid balance. It is most often made for respiratory & lung wellness, cooling & summer heat, everyday balance. Total time about 2 hr 15 min. Key ingredients: lotus leaf, winter melon.

Prep
15 min
Cook
2 hr
Total
2 hr 15 min
Makes
About 1.2 L
Lotus Leaf, Winter Melon, Adzuki and Hyacinth Bean Soup

Why people make this soup

When a typhoon is brewing offshore and the Great Heat solar term is near, Hong Kong turns sweltering. This is the time to simmer a cooling lotus-leaf and winter-melon soup. For people with a weaker constitution, Nourilo adds adzuki and hyacinth beans, which strengthen the spleen, support qi and help the body shed excess damp. Because both beans are gentle rather than cold, the soup won’t chill you, so even those who feel the cold easily can enjoy it.

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.

  • Adzuki beans · Randomized crossover trial, 10 participants · 2019
    Adzuki bean meals had a low glycemic index (21–51 range reported with lotus seed), whereas other starchy foods did not differ significantly from rice. Adzuki bean hydrolysis index was lower than other test foods.Limitation: Only ten healthy participants and acute single-meal responses, so effects in people with diabetes or with regular intake are unknown.PubMed 30875961 · 1 more adzuki beans study
  • Job's tears (coix) · Randomized controlled trial · 2024
    Myeloperoxidase activity rose significantly in the placebo group after 8 weeks but showed no significant change in the adlay tea group. Vascular endothelial function improved in the adlay group, especially in those over 40.Limitation: Participants were healthy adults and the outcomes were surrogate markers, so the results say little about clinical disease outcomes. Tea is a polyphenol-rich extract, not whole grain.PubMed 38945894 · 2 more job's tears (coix) 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.

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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