Soups
Shredded Chicken and Snake Thick Soup (Se Gang)
A traditional nourishing winter delicacy
In short: Shredded Chicken and Snake Thick Soup (Se Gang) is a soup that A traditional nourishing winter delicacy. It is most often made for everyday balance. Total time about 1 hr 25 min. Key ingredients: tangerine peel, ginger, winter bamboo shoot, black wood ear fungus.
Why people make this thick soup
Making shredded-chicken-and-snake thick soup at home lets you control the quality and keep it clean — no hidden lard and a broth simmered the way you want it. The secret is the stock, built from old hen, pork bones and Jinhua ham, and a generous mix of shredded fillings — black wood ear, bamboo shoot, dried shiitake, fish maw, chicken and tangerine peel — finished with whisper-thin lemon-leaf shreds scattered on top. The result is a rich, satisfying pot plenty big enough to share. Source the snake meat from a reputable, licensed vendor.
Method
- Shred all the soaked or blanched ingredients finely.
- Cook them in the superior stock for half an hour (add the fresh chicken shreds last).
- Add the chicken shreds and seasoning; once it returns to a boil, stir in a little cornstarch slurry and cook until the soup is the right thickness.
- Scatter the fine-shredded lemon leaf on top and serve.
Nourilo’s Tips
This thick soup is nourishing and delicious, traditionally regarded as beneficial for those who feel weak but “can’t take tonics,” and for a sore back or rheumatic joint aches. If the body is weak with a delicate spleen and stomach, just stew snake meat with ginger on its own instead.
What studies say about the key ingredients
Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.
- Tangerine peel
The tangerine peel drink group showed significant reductions in body weight and triglycerides after the intervention compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Safety markers showed no adverse effects. Gut microbiota and serum metabolite profiles also differed.Limitation: Small pilot trial with only 55 of 72 participants completing. The fermented product is not the same as plain tangerine peel, and the control group is not described.PubMed 40225325 - Ginger
Overall, acute and delayed nausea and vomiting did not differ significantly between ginger and control groups. A subgroup taking 1 g/day or less for over four days had less acute vomiting (OR 0.30).Limitation: Clinical heterogeneity between trials required subgroup analyses, and the authors state that sufficiently large, high-quality RCTs are still needed.PubMed 36501010 · 3 more ginger studies - Shiitake mushrooms
Daily shiitake intake was associated with increased ex vivo proliferation of γδ-T and NK-T cells, higher salivary sIgA and lower serum CRP, along with changes in cytokine patterns. The comparison was before versus after intake in two dose groups.Limitation: Parallel 5 g and 10 g dose groups with no placebo or non-mushroom control. Short 4-week study in healthy young adults, with mostly ex vivo immune markers.PubMed 25866155 · 2 more shiitake mushrooms studies
From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.
Safety first — read before you cook
This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:
- are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
- take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
- have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.
Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes
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