Cimicifuga, Black Bean and Lean Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

Nourilo opens with a caution many people overlook: a healthy person should not pile on tonics, and someone with a cold or flu certainly should not — it can let the illness dig in. For lupus, where the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, blindly “tonifying” can stir things up further. So this soup goes the other way: it is traditionally used to clear heat-toxin and nourish the blood, for lupus with blood-heat signs — flushed cheeks, achy joints and muscles, hair loss, dizziness, ringing ears, and a dry, restless feeling.

Method

1. Blanch the lean pork.
2. Rinse and soak the remaining ingredients.
3. Place all ingredients in a pot.
4. Add 1.8 L of water and simmer down to 900 ml. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

The cimicifuga head is bitter, traditionally clearing heat-toxin and helping disperse rashes; with black bean, goji and candied dates it gives a blood-nourishing, toxin-resolving brew. Using black-tail snake (wu shao she) in place of pork is traditionally considered more effective. This soup is bitter and not very palatable — for an everyday family soup, drop the cimicifuga and use astragalus (bei qi) instead.