Prepared Mulberry Mistletoe, Lotus Seed & Red Date Sweet Water

Why people make this sweet soup

Nourilo remembers when teahouses everywhere sold “mulberry-mistletoe lotus-seed egg sweet soup” — a cheap, cheerful tonic for ordinary folk. These days the younger crowd turns up its nose at that faint medicinal taste, but mulberry mistletoe really does earn its keep: it is traditionally associated with dispelling wind-damp, calming the mind, supporting blood pressure, strengthening sinew and bone, and nourishing the liver and kidney. Cooked with lotus seeds and red dates into a sweet soup, it is a gentle, affordable everyday tonic.