Old Cucumber, Red Bean, Hyacinth Bean and Job's Tears Soup

Why people make this soup

After a cold, the digestion often hasn’t bounced back — you feel tired and off your food. Nourilo’s advice is not to rush into rich tonics, which only burden a recovering spleen and stomach while leftover heat lingers. Instead, reach for something that settles the stomach and clears heat and damp. Old cucumber is traditionally used to clear heat and drain water; combined with red beans, hyacinth beans and Job’s tears, this soup is associated with easing the dry throat, restlessness and poor sleep that can trail a cold.