Lotus Root, Grass Carp Tail and Four-Red Soup

Why people make this soup

Chronic mild anemia often goes unnoticed — the symptoms are easy to attribute to just being busy or tired: persistent fatigue, occasional dizziness, slight breathlessness, a complexion that has lost its color. But when the pattern becomes familiar, traditional food therapy offers a practical, nourishing response: the “four red” combination. The redness of adzuki beans, red-skin peanuts, red dates, and goji berries is not just visual — in Cantonese food traditions, these four ingredients are grouped together because they are each associated, in different ways, with supporting blood production and circulation. Lotus root brings a useful iron and calcium contribution from the vegetable kingdom, while grass carp tail adds the kind of rich, savory protein that makes the broth genuinely restorative. This is a soup people return to regularly, not just as a remedy but as a warming, substantial meal.

Method

1. Peel lotus root and cut into chunks.
2. Clean and rinse the grass carp tail. Heat a little oil in a pan and lightly pan-fry the fish tail until golden on both sides. This step helps prevent the soup from turning murky and adds flavor.
3. Soak and rinse adzuki beans and red-skin peanuts separately. Pit the red dates. Rinse goji berries.
4. Place all ingredients in a pot with about 2.4 L of water. Bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for 1.5 hours until liquid reduces to approximately 1.2 L.
6. Serve warm; eat both the soup and the solids.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is fragrant, clear, and pleasant to drink — suitable for the whole family, not just those who are unwell. The solids are worth eating: the lotus root and beans in particular contribute much of the nourishment.

Families supporting a member going through chemotherapy or radiotherapy may find this soup a useful, gentle addition to daily meals. The ingredients are all foods rather than strong herbs, so they complement rather than interfere with treatment. That said, always check with the treating physician if in doubt.