Potato, Carrot and Fresh Sea Fish Soup

Why people make this soup

A friend once told Nourilo that her child was sleeping with the eyes slightly open, had a pale complexion, kept dozing off during the day, and seemed generally listless and weak. In Cantonese food therapy, this pattern is often associated with a weak spleen — meaning the digestive system is not efficiently converting food into energy and blood. When she mentioned she preferred not to use Chinese herbal medicine, Nourilo suggested this simple, herb-free soup. Potato and carrot are both considered mildly spleen-strengthening in traditional practice, and fresh sea fish provides easily absorbed protein and natural sweetness. The result is a comforting, family-friendly soup that children typically enjoy.

Method

1. Peel the potato and carrot; cut into chunks.
2. Clean and gut the fresh sea fish. Pan-fry in a little oil until lightly golden on both sides to remove any fishy smell and add flavour.
3. Place the pan-fried fish into a mesh fish-soup bag to keep the broth clear and bone-free.
4. Combine all ingredients in a pot with 2.4 L of water.
5. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 1 hour, reducing to approximately 1.2 L.
6. Serve the soup; the whole family can enjoy it.

Nourilo’s Tips

• This soup is safe for the whole family. The photo shows a fresh horse-head fish (the hook was still in its mouth when purchased), costing about 20 HKD per jin at the time — good value for such a sweet broth. Because horse-head fish has soft, flaky flesh, it really does need to go in a soup bag to keep the bones out.
• Any small fresh sea fish works — grouper fry, red snapper, pomfret — they all make a naturally sweet broth.
• Carrots labelled “gan sun” (typically slim, imported ones) and those sold as red carrots are the same vegetable. The varieties with a more yellow centre tend to be higher in beta-carotene.