Water Chestnut and Honey Date Soup

Why people make this soup

Nourilo spotted some freshly shelled water chestnut kernels at the dried-goods shop and could not resist. Half went into a braise, half into this little soup. Water chestnut kernels taste mildly sweet and clean, and in food-therapy tradition they are seen as gentle on the middle. This is one of those quiet two-ingredient soups you make when the stomach feels off and digestion has gone slack.

Method

1. Rinse the fresh water chestnut kernels clean.
2. Put the kernels and honey dates into a pot with 1.5 L of water.
3. Boil down to about 900 ml. Drink the soup and eat the soup ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

Fresh water chestnut kernels are also delicious braised. Or pair them with Chinese yam (huai shan), goji berries (gou qi zi), and red dates (hong zao) in a pork-rib soup as a daily wellness soup — traditionally associated with supporting vitality, the spleen and stomach, and a calm mind.