Potato, Carrot & Quail Soup

Why people make this soup

From the age of two, children begin eating at the family table — and what goes into the family pot matters enormously. Getting children to eat vegetables can be a battle, but a well-made soup is one of the most reliable ways to sneak in nutrition painlessly. This soup is built around three genuinely nutritious everyday ingredients: potato (often called the “earth apple” in Chinese food culture), carrot, and quail. Potato is a good source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and complex carbohydrates; contrary to common assumption, cooked potato without oil does not make children fat — it actually supports strong muscles and healthy fluid balance. Carrot is one of the most child-friendly ingredients in Cantonese food therapy: sweet, gently digestive, and rich in beta-carotene. And quail, folk tradition calls “the animal ginseng” — lean, nutrient-dense, and deeply nourishing without the fattiness of chicken.

Method

1. Peel and cut the potato and carrot into chunks.
2. Remove pits from the jujube dates.
3. Clean and blanch the quail: place in a pot with cold water, bring to a gentle simmer, skim foam, drain and rinse.
4. Place all ingredients in a large pot with 2.4 L of water. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 1.5 hours until liquid reduces to about 1.2 L.
6. Serve the soup and solid ingredients to the family.

Nourilo’s Tips

This is a gentle, all-family soup — the key is consistency. From a young age, encouraging children to eat a variety of vegetables in soup is one of the best ways to build good eating habits. Fried potato chips and crisps have far too much energy for young children and should be limited, but a bowl of this wholesome potato-and-carrot soup is a different matter entirely. For children recovering from illness who have lost their appetite, this soup is a wonderful starter — light, sweet, and easy on the stomach.