Ching Bo Leung (Clear-Tonic-Cooling) Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

Summer is not the season for heavy tonics — you sweat a lot, the heat is strong, and forceful “tonics” can backfire into dry-mouth, irritability, red lips and eyes. But for people who are run-down, or recovering from illness or surgery, Nourilo favours the gentle approach: mild ingredients like yam, lotus seed, fox nut, glehnia and Solomon’s seal that clear heat, lightly nourish, and cool and moisten all at once. That balance is exactly what Ching Bo Leung is for.

Method

1. Blanch the pork. Soak and rinse all the other ingredients.
2. Put everything in a pot with 2.4 L of water and simmer for about 2 hours until reduced to about 1.2 L. Drink the soup and eat the ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup works seasoned either savoury or sweet. Apart from when you have a cold or flu, run-down people can drink it often as a gentle tonic. To make it less cooling for children, swap the Job’s tears for black-eyed peas or rice beans.