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Ginseng Six-Flavour Soup




This ginseng soup is traditionally used to improve digestive functions, increase vitality and reduce dampness in our body.  It can be cooked sweet with rock sugar and served as a dessert or cooling drink, or add in some meat to make it savoury, as a soup.



Clock wise - Polygonatum Root, dried Lotus seeds, white colour Dioscorea  Root sliced, brown and white Euryale seeds, dried Lily bulbs or Baihe, Chinese Ginseng (sugar coated) in a bag and in the centre, dried Longan.
Polygonatum Root/Polygonatum Odoratum ~ 'Yuzhu' is good for wind and prevent dryness to nourish yin, promote the production of body fluid and relieve dryness syndromes.
Dioscorea Root ~ 'Huai Shan' literal name is 'Mountain medicine' has a neutral atmospheric energy, neither hot nor cold - ability to build qi in the lungs, improve lung functioning, helps relieve coough due to weak lung funtion, also good for diabetes.
Lily Bulbs ~ Baihe, slightly bitter in taste, helps to moisturise the lung and relieve cough.
Euryale Seeds (Qian Shi) ~ also known as Fox Nut is the fruit that comes from an annual type of water plant native to east Asia.  These plants can be found throughout ponds and low-lying lakes of China, India and Japan.  Taking these seeds is  believed to retard aging.
Longan ~ also known as Dragon Eye is used as a remedy for stomachache, insomia and amnesia.  The fruit is said to invigorate the heart and spleen, nourish the blood and have a calming effect on the nervous system.
Lotus Seeds ~ 'Lian Zi' in Chinese, is used mainly for the spleen, heart, kidney and also possess calming qualities.



I added rock sugar to make this as a dessert and as a cooling drink.  It can also be taken hot or chilled, very refreshing indeed, especially on a hot and humid day.

Ingredients
  • 40 gm Chinese Ginseng
  • 20 gm Dioscorea root
  • 20 gm Polygonatum root
  • 20 gm dried Lotus seeds
  • 10 gm Euryale seeds
  • 10 gm dried Lily bulbs
  • 10 gm dried Longan fruit
  • 6 bowls of water
  • Rock sugar to taste
Preparation
  1. Rinse all the herbs once.
  2. Place them in a pot and add in 6 bowls of water.
  3. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 2 hours or until the lotus seeds are soft and tender.
  4. Add rock sugar to taste and serve warm or chilled as desired.
  5. Makes 2 to 3 servings.


Note :  The ingredients for this soup are all pre-packed and readily available in all Chinese medical shops.
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Comments

  1. Angie's RecipesJune 5, 2010 at 5:37 PM

    A mouthwatering soup! I would like it chilled and eat them after a nap in the afternoon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. tinyskilletJune 5, 2010 at 8:34 PM

    What an interesting soup. It sounds good! I have a hard time getting to use more ginseng (I don't care for just ginseng tea) so this is great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Little SpaceJune 5, 2010 at 9:55 PM

    'lok mei tong sui' very yummy! I like it warm. I want three bowls lol! haha.... Have a pleasant evening.
    Regards, Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeannieJune 5, 2010 at 10:07 PM

    Mmmm..This sweet dessert is very refreshing indeed! I love to serve it with lots of crushed ice.

    ReplyDelete
  5. pigpigscornerJune 7, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    yum..this would be great chilled!

    ReplyDelete
  6. penny aka jeroxieJune 7, 2010 at 7:37 PM

    Can I please ta bao!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sokehah cheahJune 8, 2010 at 7:04 AM

    Angie, Yes I do too!

    Yes, Lyndsey, now you have another way of making use of ginseng.

    Kristy
    I can gulp down a few bowls too in this weather!

    Jeannie, yes that's what we need right now!

    pigpigscorner
    Yes, it's flexible, chilled in summer and hot in winter!

    penny
    Think opening up a 'tong sui' outlet in Melb. is not a bad idea. If I can recall, there's already one in the city.

    ReplyDelete

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