Spearmint, Ginger and Black Bean Egg Soup

Why people make this soup

Spearmint — known in Cantonese herbal shops as xiang hua cai or yu xiang cao — is a different plant from the common mint used in Western cooking, though they are related. Its pungent, slightly cooling nature was traditionally used to dispel wind-heat and reduce swelling, yet when combined with warming ginger and tonic black soybeans, the whole formula shifts toward warming and nourishing. This is a soup for people who tend to feel cold easily, have a sluggish digestion, or are slightly anemic — especially those who cannot tolerate the richer warming tonics because even gentle supplements make them feel flushed or off. The combination gently warms without overcorrecting.