Watercress, South Almond, Carrot & Dried-Tangerine Soup

Why people make this soup

I love folding minced pork through chopped watercress for dumplings — fragrant and tasty — and when I’ve bought too much, watercress soup is the best way to clear lung-and-stomach heat. It pairs beautifully with luo han guo in a snakehead-fish soup, or with carrot and aged duck gizzard in a pork-rib soup, both kindly to people with a dry-lung cough or bronchitis. Today I bought 600 g of watercress, blanched it briefly to take off some of the bitterness, chopped the tender leaves for egg dumplings, and used the rest with carrot, almond and dried-tangerine cake for a clear, moistening soup — lovely for those with lots of phlegm, a cough, or bronchitis.

Method

1. Rinse the watercress and blanch it briefly in boiling water, then lift out.
2. Peel and chunk the carrot; cut the dried-tangerine cake.
3. Put everything in 1.8–2.1 L of water and simmer for 1 hour until reduced to 1.2 L.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup is clear and moistening — good for poor digestion, a weak appetite, and a heaty cough with phlegm; old and young can drink it. Eat the soup ingredients along with the broth: the rich dietary fibre helps the bowels move and eases constipation.