Prince Ginseng, Snow Ear Fungus, Walnut, Lily Bulb and Fig Soup

Why people make this soup

When children fall ill with COVID, parents worry — and rightly so. Some children recover smoothly, while others are left with lingering fatigue, poor appetite, a chronic cough, headaches, poor concentration, or mood changes. Getting a child to drink medicine is often a battle; getting them to drink a pleasant-tasting soup is far easier. This is where food therapy shines for parents. The key ingredient here is prince ginseng (tai zi shen, also known as “children’s ginseng”), a gentle qi tonic that is not the same plant family as true ginseng and is considered much safer for children. It won’t cause the heating or stimulating effects associated with Korean or Panax ginseng. Paired with the familiar nourishing ingredients of snow ear, walnuts, lily bulb, and figs, this soup is mild, lightly sweet, and suitable for the whole family — while being especially well targeted at children recovering from respiratory illness.

Method

1. Soak and rinse all ingredients separately; remove the base of the snow ear fungus after soaking.
2. For very young children, soak the snow ear in clean water for 1 hour and discard the soaking water before using, to reduce residual processing chemicals.
3. Combine all ingredients in a pot with 2.1–2.4 L of water.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour until reduced to 0.9–1.2 L.
5. For a sweet version, add rock sugar or honey dates; for a savoury version, add lean pork or quail from the start.
6. Serve warm; the whole family can drink it together.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is clean and lightly refreshing — not heavy or oily. For children who are fussy about taste, the sweet version with rock sugar (or honey dates in place of rock sugar) is usually well accepted. For very young children (18 months), use only 7 g of prince ginseng and keep the other ingredients proportionally smaller. Use skinless walnut kernels to avoid bitter notes. Prince ginseng is suitable for weekly use as a general wellness tonic even outside of illness — once or twice a week is fine for children.