Green Papaya, Octopus and Black Bean Pork Shin Soup

Why people make this soup

Across southern China, green papaya soup is the classic thing a family cooks for a new mother in the weeks after birth. Nourilo points out that unripe, pale-fleshed papaya is especially valued here: it is rich in natural enzymes that help break down protein, so the soup sits easily on a tired postpartum stomach, and in tradition it is associated with encouraging milk to come in. Paired with dried octopus, black soybeans and a little pork shin, it makes a light, nourishing pot rather than a heavy greasy one.