Tu Fuling, Zhu Ling and Fu Ling Pork Soup

Why people make this soup

If you find yourself waking up tired even after a full night’s sleep, dealing with persistent oily skin, recurring acne — especially around the mouth and nose — a heavy or foggy feeling in the body, sticky bowel movements, and a generally irritable mood, traditional Chinese medicine would likely describe your constitution as “damp-heat.” This pattern is particularly common in warm, humid climates and in people with stressful lifestyles who eat a lot of fried, rich, or spicy food.

Nourilo designed this soup specifically for damp-heat constitutions. It brings together three related mushrooms and fungi — tu fuling, zhu ling, and fu ling — each associated in Chinese herbalism with resolving dampness and clearing heat, but working on slightly different organ systems. The beans and coix seeds add further heat-clearing, water-regulating support. The result is a soup that is substantial enough to be satisfying, but light and gentle enough to take regularly as a constitutional remedy.

Method

1. Slice the lean pork and blanch briefly in boiling water; drain and rinse.
2. Rinse all remaining ingredients; soak the beans and coix seeds briefly.
3. Combine all ingredients in a pot with 2.4 L of water.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer for about 1.5 hours until the liquid reduces to approximately 1.2 L.
5. The whole family can enjoy this soup.

Nourilo’s Tips

• Fresh tu fuling (土茯苓) provides a stronger therapeutic effect; if available, use 75 g (75 g) of the fresh root. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 4–5 days after slicing.
• For pregnant women: the coix seeds in this recipe should be replaced with 38 g of flat beans (bai bian dou).
• If zhu ling or tu fuling is unavailable, flat beans (bian dou, 38 g) and ze xie (alisma, 11 g) can be used as substitutes.
• Vegetarians can replace the lean pork with extra beans, nuts, or root vegetables such as carrot and corn.
• If you need a lid for cooking, the cube-shaped and rolled forms of fu ling have the same therapeutic effect — no need to worry about which type you find.