Soups
White Radish and Sour Plum Soup
Traditionally used to ease indigestion and a full, bloated stomach
Why people make this soup
Bro Niu had recently made a jar of preserved sour plums (and a jar of sour-plum wine — wonderful for cooking seafood and shellfish, and the plums themselves are great for steaming ribs or stir-frying pork). One day he picked up a few small radishes and remembered this old folk remedy worth sharing. Radish and sour plum soup is traditionally taken when food sits heavily — a full, bloated belly, rib discomfort, heartburn, nausea or loss of appetite.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Suits those with indigestion: a full, bloated stomach, heartburn, nausea, or poor appetite
- A gentle everyday remedy; no specific caution noted
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- White radish (bai luo bo): traditionally used to move stuck food along and ease a full, bloated stomach
- Sour plum (suan mei): the sour note is traditionally associated with whetting the appetite and settling the stomach
Ingredients (2 bowls)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| White radish | 1, ~450 g (12 liang) | Peeled, thinly sliced |
| Sour plum | 2 | Sold in small packs at grocery and sauce shops |
Method
- Peel the radish and slice thinly.
- Simmer with the sour plums in 4 bowls of water down to 2 bowls. Take in 2 servings.
Bro Niu’s tips
Sour plums are sold at grocery stores and sauce shops, often in small packs of a few.
Community questions answered (selected)
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Q (Zhizhi): My stomach digests poorly — if I eat things like potato, white sauce or butter (which I usually avoid) it gets uncomfortable. Lately, from overwork plus a coffee and birthday cake, my stomach feels stuffed and miserable eating (no pain, just very full). Is this soup right for me? People tell me not to drink so much lemon water — will the acid only make it worse? Bro Niu: This may not be indigestion so much as a weak spleen and stomach, where harder-to-digest foods cause bloating. Try simmering amomum fruit (3 qian), codonopsis (5 qian) and 6 red dates in a fresh fish soup, or buy a bottle of the patent remedy “Xiang Sha Yang Wei Wan” to try — it is made from cyperus and amomum plus the Four Gentlemen ingredients, and is helpful for a qi-weak spleen and stomach.
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Q (Pink Puppet): Those with gout or high uric acid shouldn’t eat red, green or adzuki beans — but what about sprouted ones like soybean or mung bean sprouts? And what about adzuki or hyacinth beans? Bro Niu: All beans contain purines — useful to the body, but their metabolic by-product is uric acid, which doesn’t suit people with high uric acid or gout. So go easy on beans; small amounts are fine — e.g. used in soup, where it’s better not to eat the dregs. Soybean and mung bean sprouts can be eaten in moderation without much problem. Cherries are in season — cherries, green papaya, eggplant and ginger all contain substances associated with curbing uric acid, and can be eaten in moderation.
Published July 13, 2010 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.
