Chinese Yam, Euryale & Dried Turtle Skirt Soup

Why people make this soup

Waking up multiple times a night to use the bathroom is exhausting — and it is surprisingly common, particularly in older adults and people who work demanding schedules. In traditional Chinese food therapy, frequent night urination is often viewed as a sign of kidney deficiency: the kidney’s “holding” function has weakened. Nourilo encountered dried turtle skirt (the gelatinous cartilage rim of the softshell turtle) at a dried-goods shop and found it a practical, concentrated ingredient for this kind of soup — packed with collagen and traditionally considered deeply yin-nourishing. Combined with Chinese yam, euryale seeds, and ginkgo, the resulting soup is nourishing without being too stimulating, and is generally considered balanced enough for the whole family.