Soups

Black Bean, Wheat and Pigeon Soup

traditionally used to tonify qi, calm the heart, and help reduce excessive sweating

In short: Black Bean, Wheat and Pigeon Soup is a soup that traditionally used to tonify qi, calm the heart, and help reduce excessive sweating. It is most often made for women's wellness, children's wellness, heart & circulation. Total time about 135 min. Key ingredients: black soybeans, red dates, ginger.

Prep
15 min
Cook
120 min
Total
135 min
Makes
0.9–1.2 L
Black Bean, Wheat and Pigeon Soup

Why people make this soup

Waking up damp with sweat — or finding children’s pyjamas soaked through every morning — is a complaint that traditional Chinese medicine places firmly in the category of deficiency. Whether it is a young child’s constitution not yet fully settled, or a woman in midlife whose hormonal balance is shifting, the pattern of “heat leaking out” at night is one that food therapy has long approached with ingredients that gently tonify qi and consolidate the body’s natural ability to hold fluids in place. This warming, subtly savory soup of black soybeans, wheat grain, red dates, and pigeon has been used for generations in this way. It is mild in flavor, not cloying, and suitable for regular drinking over several days.

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.

  • Black soybeans · Randomized controlled trial, 100 participants · 2013
    Systolic blood pressure fell more in the black soy peptide group (-9.69 mm Hg) than in the placebo group (-2.91 mm Hg) after baseline adjustment. Plasma malondialdehyde decreased and superoxide dismutase activity increased compared with placebo.Limitation: Used an isolated peptide supplement rather than whole black soybeans, and followed participants for only 8 weeks, so the results may not apply to food intake.PubMed 23924691
  • Red dates · Meta-analysis, 483 participants · 2025
    Jujube was associated with significantly lower BMI and triglycerides, and lower fasting blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. LDL and total cholesterol fell only in some subgroups. HDL, AST and ALT did not change significantly.Limitation: The authors state the overall quality of the evidence is limited, and results varied significantly by dose, treatment duration and disease type.PubMed 40399274 · 3 more red dates studies
  • Ginger · Meta-analysis, 23 studies · 2022
    Overall, acute and delayed nausea and vomiting did not differ significantly between ginger and control groups. A subgroup taking 1 g/day or less for over four days had less acute vomiting (OR 0.30).Limitation: Clinical heterogeneity between trials required subgroup analyses, and the authors state that sufficiently large, high-quality RCTs are still needed.PubMed 36501010 · 3 more ginger 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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