Fuzzy Gourd, Adzuki Bean, Hyacinth Bean and Pork Shin Soup

Why people make this soup

After Minor Heat (Xiaoshu) the weather turns sweltering, so Nourilo likes to cook with seasonal melons. Winter melon soup is a favorite, but fuzzy gourd is great too — and cheap. Fuzzy gourd is actually the tender young form of winter melon, with a fuzzy skin and traditionally seen as even more supportive of healthy vital energy. It is associated with generating fluids, quenching thirst and draining dampness. This soup is a lovely choice for the hottest days.

Method

1. Scrape the skin from the fuzzy gourd and cut into chunks; soak and rinse the adzuki beans, hyacinth beans and tangerine peel; cut and blanch the pork shin.
2. Combine all ingredients with 2.4 L of water.
3. Cook for about 1.5 hours, reducing to 1.2–1.5 L. Eat the soup and ingredients together.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is light, fragrant and tasty, suitable for young and old, and also said to suit those with high cholesterol and high blood sugar.