Lotus Seed, Lily Bulb, Longan and Silkie Chicken Soup

Why people make this soup

As autumn deepens and mornings start with a chill, this is the soup Cantonese families reach for. It is the kind of pot that warms you from the inside — not just physically, but emotionally. In traditional Chinese food therapy, silkie chicken (wu ji, literally “black-boned chicken”) is considered more medicinally valuable than regular chicken: darker in colour, richer in certain minerals, and associated with nourishing the liver, kidneys and blood. Combined with the classic sleep-supporting trio of lotus seeds, lily bulb and longan flesh, alongside nourishing red dates, this is a soup with real purpose and genuine warmth. Nourilo recommends it for anyone feeling persistently tired, mentally foggy, pale, or struggling to sleep well.

Method

1. Rinse and soak lotus seeds and lily bulbs for 30 minutes.
2. Pit the red dates.
3. Chop the silkie chicken into large pieces and blanch briefly in boiling water to remove impurities. Drain.
4. Place all ingredients into a pot with 2.4 L of water.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a medium-low simmer and cook for about 1.5 hours until the liquid reduces to about 1.2 L.
6. Serve with both the soup and the cooked ingredients — the chicken and lotus seeds are excellent to eat.

Nourilo’s Tips

This is a rich, deeply nourishing soup — not one to drink every day, but wonderful 2–3 times per week through the cooler months. Because longan, red dates and silkie chicken are all warming in nature, do not drink this during a cold, fever, or when you are already feeling hot or heavy with dampness — the warmth will make things worse, not better. Pregnant women should swap the longan flesh for goji berries, which provide nourishment without the excessive warming effect.