Hair Vegetable, Dried Oyster & Soybean Pork Shin Soup

Why people make this soup

Lunar New Year celebrations mean feasting — and after days of rich, greasy banquet dishes, most people feel uncomfortably full, sluggish, and bloated. In Cantonese homes, this soup often appears in the days after the holiday as a kind of reset. It’s also a practical way to use up festive ingredients: hair vegetable and dried oysters are classic lucky-food staples at New Year, and any leftovers can go straight into the pot. Beyond their symbolic role, both ingredients have real food-therapy credentials. Hair vegetable (fa cai) is associated with clearing intestinal heat and easing food stagnation, while dried oysters are valued for helping the body process accumulated phlegm and dampness. The result is a broth that is genuinely tasty — savory, slightly sweet from the soybean, with a pleasant depth from the oysters — and easy on a digestive system that has been through a lot.

Method

1. Soak the hair vegetable and soybeans separately in water for 20–30 minutes; rinse well. Soak the dried oysters until softened.
2. Cut the pork shin into chunks. Blanch with the soaked oysters: place both in cold water, bring to a boil, drain, and rinse clean.
3. Combine all ingredients in a pot with 2.4 L of water.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium-low simmer and cook for 2 hours, until the liquid reduces to about 1.2 L.
5. Serve with the soup solids — the soybeans and pork are good to eat alongside the broth.

Nourilo’s Tips

Look for dried oysters that are plump and golden, fragrant, with no sand along the edges — these make the most flavorful broth. Avoid thin, dark, or sandy ones. Good-quality dried oysters are especially high in glycogen during the winter season, which is why they are traditionally associated with liver protection. This soup is easy for the whole family to enjoy — savory, filling, and genuinely useful after an indulgent stretch of holiday eating.