Soups
Three-Bean Sweet Soup (San Dou Tang)
traditionally associated with clearing heat, supporting healthy digestion, and strengthening the spleen in children
In short: Three-Bean Sweet Soup (San Dou Tang) is a soup that traditionally associated with clearing heat, supporting healthy digestion, and strengthening the spleen in children. It is most often made for digestive wellness, children's wellness, oral & throat comfort. Total time about 70 min. Key ingredients: mung beans, tangerine peel, rock sugar.
Why people make this soup
Hand-foot-mouth disease spreads easily among young children, particularly those aged 2–5. Common signs include fever, poor appetite, mouth sores, and a rash on the hands and feet. While prevention is mostly about hygiene — thorough handwashing, avoiding crowded spaces when an outbreak is circulating — supportive food therapy has a role to play in keeping young bodies resilient.
Traditional Chinese medicine classifies hand-foot-mouth disease as a “damp-heat” pattern, which points toward food therapy that clears heat, supports the body’s ability to handle “toxins,” and strengthens the spleen (the digestive system). This simple three-bean sweet soup does exactly that — using everyday beans that most households can keep in the pantry.
Nourilo also shares a practical tip for children who are already suffering from mouth sores and refusing to eat: blend the cooked soup into a smooth paste, set it with gelatine powder, and serve it cold as a jelly. Cold, smooth, and sweet — most children will accept it even when swallowing is painful.
What studies say about the key ingredients
Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.
- Mung beans
Breath hydrogen and methane were higher after wheat than after rice or mung bean noodles. Bloating scores after mung bean did not differ significantly from wheat, and mung bean produced gas levels similar to rice.Limitation: Small sample of 20 patients, with single meals tested rather than habitual intake, so longer-term effects of mung bean on symptoms are unknown.PubMed 31484315 · 1 more mung beans study - Tangerine peel
The tangerine peel drink group showed significant reductions in body weight and triglycerides after the intervention compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Safety markers showed no adverse effects. Gut microbiota and serum metabolite profiles also differed.Limitation: Small pilot trial with only 55 of 72 participants completing. The fermented product is not the same as plain tangerine peel, and the control group is not described.PubMed 40225325
From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.
Safety first — read before you cook
This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:
- are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
- take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
- have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.
Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes
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