Phlegm-Damp Clearing Herbal Soup (Qu Shi Tang)

Why people make this soup

In Chinese medicine thinking, a “phlegm-damp” constitution describes people who tend to feel heavy and sluggish, accumulate excess weight easily, sleep a lot, snore, and experience a sticky sensation in the mouth or digestive tract. Rather than a single dramatic cause, this constitution is understood to reflect the spleen and stomach working below their best — failing to fully transform and move fluids, leading to a gradual build-up of what practitioners call “damp.” Soups like this one, combining classic damp-clearing herbs with adzuki beans and Job’s tears, have been part of southern Chinese household cooking for generations as a practical way to support the digestion and help the body feel lighter.

You can often find ready-made “qu shi” (dampness-clearing) herb packets at Chinese herbal medicine shops, sold cheaply. Nourilo recommends boosting these packets with a handful of adzuki beans and two types of Job’s tears for better results.

Method

1. Soak the herb packet, adzuki beans, and both types of Job’s tears in water for about 30 minutes; drain.
2. Place all ingredients into a pot and add 1.8–2.1 L of water.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium-low simmer.
4. Cook for about 1 hour, until the liquid reduces to around 0.9–1.2 L.
5. Serve and drink the broth; the beans and Job’s tears can also be eaten.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is gentle and appropriate for all ages, all year round. It is particularly well suited to those with a phlegm-damp constitution, or anyone who has just recovered from a cold and wants a light supportive soup before drinking richer tonic broths. People with a phlegm-damp tendency should avoid overeating, and steer clear of rich, greasy, or sweet foods and sugary drinks, as these are considered to worsen damp accumulation in the body. If you would like to make your own herb mixture instead of using a packet, the core herbs to look for are poria (yun fu ling), white atractylodes (bai zhu), hyacinth bean skin (bian dou yi), water plantain root (ze xie), and corn silk or corn core (su mi xin). You can also add a little Chinese yam (huai shan) and lotus seeds (lian zi) to further support the spleen.