Old Cucumber Mung Bean Barley Dried Scallop Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

The summer solstice — the day Nourilo wrote this recipe — marks peak yang energy, the most intense heat of the year, and also peak risk of dehydration and heatstroke. On days like this, the Cantonese tradition of cooking restorative soups comes into its own. Old yellow cucumber (the mature, large version of the cucumber, with a golden-yellow skin) stands out from other summer gourds for its relatively rich content of vitamins A, C, and E, which help support the immune system, protect against the effects of sun exposure, and provide cellular energy. When cooked in a long soup with mung beans, barley, dried scallops, and pork shin for two full hours, even those with weaker constitutions can comfortably drink it — the long cooking time turns this into something gentle and deeply nourishing rather than harsh.