Century Egg, Coriander, Spring Onion and Fish Broth

Why people make this dish

Late nights, air-conditioned offices and a fondness for fried or spicy food — it is easy to build up what Cantonese tradition calls internal dryness-heat, which can show up as a sore, inflamed throat, hoarse voice, cracked lips or mouth sores. Rather than reaching straight for bitter cooling teas (which can sometimes prolong the dryness), Chinese food therapy suggests moistening the lungs first and letting the heat resolve more gently. Century egg is a classic ingredient for this purpose: it is traditionally considered cooling and throat-moistening, and particularly good for clearing heat from the large intestine. This quick broth — just five to six minutes of simmering — is light enough to eat when you feel unwell, yet flavourful enough to enjoy as an everyday dish.

Method

1. Shell the century eggs, rinse under cold water and cut into pieces. Remove roots from the coriander and spring onion, wash thoroughly and cut into sections. Remove the skin from the fish fillet, rinse and slice thinly.
2. Bring 0.9–1.2 L of water to a rolling boil.
3. Add all ingredients to the boiling water.
4. Boil briskly for 5–6 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.
5. Serve immediately, eating both the broth and the solid ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

When choosing century eggs, avoid ones with many spots on the shell, or where the egg-white looks very dark greenish-black — these may indicate higher lead content from older production methods. The egg white should be a clear amber colour, and the yolk should still be soft (runny-centered) for the best flavour and food-therapy quality. If the yolk has turned yellow throughout, the egg is too old and is best not used. This broth is particularly helpful at the early stage of an upper respiratory infection where there is redness and swelling in the throat.