Lotus Seed, Lily Bulb, Sour Jujube Seed & Arborvitae Seed Soup

Why people make this soup

Nourilo often sees the pressures of modern parenting play out in the health of the whole family. Parents lose sleep worrying about school applications and enrichment classes; children are rushed from activity to activity before they can even articulate what they enjoy. The result: nervous exhaustion, poor sleep, difficulty concentrating, and a creeping sense of anxiety that many people dismiss as “just stress.” This gentle soup is built from five ingredients that Chinese culinary and herbal tradition has paired for centuries specifically to calm the heart, settle the mind, and support a deeper, more restorative sleep. It is mild enough for the whole family, works both as a sweet or savoury dish, and requires very little effort to prepare.

Method

1. Remove the stones from the red dates. Soak lotus seeds and lily bulb for about 20 minutes; rinse all remaining ingredients.
2. Place all ingredients in a pot with 2.1 L of water.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour until reduced to about 1.2 L.
4. For a savoury version, add lean pork or chicken breast before cooking and season lightly with salt. For a sweet version, stir in rock sugar to taste near the end of cooking.
5. This soup keeps for 2 days, divided; drink twice daily if desired.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is gentle enough to serve to everyone at the table and flexible enough to adapt to different tastes. For a mild depression or very low mood, Nourilo suggests a similar formula: adding wheat grain (xiao mai mi) and poria with pine (fu shen) to the basic lotus-lily combination. The soup can be divided over 2 days (made as 4 bowls, drink 2 bowls per day for 2 days) as a 3-serving course. Regular gentle exercise, meaningful conversation with loved ones, and limiting news intake are all part of Nourilo’s broader advice for calming an overworked mind.