Soups
Watercress & Pork Lung Soup
Traditionally used to clear heat and moisten the lungs
Why people make this soup
Watercress is a seasonal vegetable of autumn and winter, traditionally associated with clearing heat and moistening dryness; simmered with honey dates it is a classic for cooling lung and stomach heat. Many home cooks pair watercress with snakehead fish or with fresh and dried duck gizzard for a rich, savory soup. Bro Niu spotted nicely cleaned pork lung at the butcher at a good price, so he pairs it with watercress here, traditionally valued to clear heat, moisten dryness, and clear accumulated lung-and-stomach heat.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- People troubled by lung heat or dryness, or a cough with yellow phlegm
- Simmered the full time, watercress soup is not overly cooling
- If you can’t find pork lung (it’s banned in some countries), the soup is still tasty and nourishing made with snakehead fish instead
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Watercress (xi yang cai): traditionally associated with clearing heat and moistening the lungs
- Pork lung (zhu fei): traditionally added to soups for the lungs
- Dried figs (wu hua guo): add natural sweetness and are traditionally moistening
- Tangerine peel (chen pi) & ginger: regulate qi and warm the soup so it isn’t too cooling
Ingredients (5–6 bowls)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Watercress (xi yang cai) | ~600 g (1 catty) | Washed; added only once the water boils |
| Pork lung (zhu fei) | 1 | Cleaned thoroughly, cut, blanched |
| Lean pork (shou rou) | ~225 g (6 liang) | Blanched |
| Dried figs (wu hua guo) | 3 | |
| Tangerine peel (chen pi) | 1 piece | Soaked soft |
| Ginger (sheng jiang) | 2 slices |
Method
- Wash the watercress. Clean the pork lung thoroughly, cut into pieces and blanch; blanch the lean pork; soak the tangerine peel soft.
- Put the pork lung, ginger, dried figs, tangerine peel and lean pork in a pot with about 10 bowls of water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add the watercress, then simmer on medium-low heat about 3 hours. Serve with the ingredients.
Bro Niu’s tips
The watercress must go in only once the water is boiling, otherwise the soup turns bitter-astringent. This soup is traditionally favored by those with lung heat or dryness and a cough with yellow phlegm.
Community questions answered (selected)
- Q (reader): Cleaning pork lung is such a chore. Bro Niu: I dislike cleaning pork lung too — luckily most butchers now rinse it for customers, running water through it until it turns white. The only hassle is carrying it home: heavy, with water leaking out.
- Q (Arthur, Los Angeles): I loved this soup in Hong Kong, but I can’t buy pork lung anywhere in the U.S. since the FDA banned its sale, along with chicken intestine. I can only dream of it. Bro Niu: Animal offal really is hard to find abroad. But since you have plenty of snakehead fish over there, watercress simmered with snakehead is just as tasty and nourishing.
- Q (Mrs Chow): Will this soup made with watercress (or dried cabbage) be too cooling? Bro Niu: As long as you simmer the dried-cabbage or watercress soup a full 2 hours, it won’t be too cooling.
Published September 1, 2010 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.
