Dragon-Tongue Leaf and Shihuangpi Soup

Why people make this soup

When the weather keeps flip-flopping and the air turns hazy, folks with weaker lungs often feel that tight, scratchy throat and start bringing up phlegm. Fresh dragon-tongue leaf and the hillside herb shihuangpi, simmered with a little sugared winter melon and apricot kernels, produce a fragrant, lightly sweet soup that goes down like a tea. It is the kind of pot people keep on hand to head off a cough before it digs in. Fresh dragon-tongue leaf is available at Chinese or Asian grocers; dried is sold at Chinese herb shops.