Red-Skin Peanut, Jujube & Longan Soup

Why people make this soup

When someone asks Nourilo about food therapy for low platelet counts, the answer almost always starts here. People with this condition tend to have what Chinese food therapy calls qi-blood deficiency and spleen weakness — they bruise easily, tire quickly, feel short of breath, and may look pale or thin. This sweet, cheerful-looking soup is built around a deceptively simple idea: the deep-red skin of the peanut has long been prized in Chinese food culture as a blood tonic, and modern research has explored extracts from peanut skins in relation to platelet-related conditions including thrombocytopenic purpura and thalassaemia. Paired with iron-rich jujubes and longan flesh — which nourishes the heart and spleen and calms the mind — this becomes a comforting everyday brew that even children enjoy.