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Soups for sticky summer heat
Hong Kong summers are hot and wet, so the pots go cooling and “damp-draining”: winter melon, coix seed, old cucumber, mung beans.
Traditional home cooking, not medical advice. Check with your doctor, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing, or on medication.
The house rules
- Hot and bothered? Melons, bitter melon and mung beans are the traditional cool-down.
- Puffy and heavy? Coix seed, red beans and old cucumber are said to drain damp.
- Run cold, or expecting? Pick the gentler bowls and skip raw coix seed.
Cool me down
Cooling pots for the hottest weeks.
Winter melon, coix seed and lotus leaf soup
冬瓜薏米荷葉湯
Traditionally believed to beat summer heat and drain dampness.
Cooling涼2 h 15 minNot for when you have…- A baby on the way
- A cold tummy or loose stools
Winter melon cup
冬瓜盅
A summer banquet soup traditionally believed to clear heat and refresh.
Cooling涼3 h 15 minNot for when you have…- A cold tummy or loose stools
Bitter melon and soybean rib soup
苦瓜黃豆排骨湯
Traditionally believed to clear summer heat and cool a fiery temper.
Cooling涼2 h 20 min
Mung bean and kelp sweet soup
海帶綠豆沙
The classic summer cooler, traditionally believed to clear heat and toxins.
Cooling涼1 h 40 min
Ching bo leung pork soup
清補涼瘦肉湯
Traditionally believed to clear heat gently while still nourishing; a family favorite in humid weather.
Cooling涼2 h 50 minNot for when you have…- A baby on the way
Old cucumber and rice bean soup
老黃瓜赤小豆湯
Traditionally believed to drain damp and cool you down in muggy summer weather.
Cooling涼2 h 50 min
Kudzu root, rice bean and mud carp soup
粉葛赤小豆鯪魚湯
Traditionally believed to clear damp-heat and relax stiff, tired muscles.
Cooling涼2 h 55 min
Gentler on the tummy
Neutral bowls for damp days if you run cold.
Hairy fig root (wuzhimaotao) soup
五指毛桃豬骨湯
Traditionally believed to strengthen the spleen and lungs and lift a heavy, damp feeling.
Neutral平2 h 45 min
Red bean sweet soup with tangerine peel
陳皮紅豆沙
Traditionally believed to drain damp and be easy on the stomach.
Neutral平2 h 10 min
Hairy gourd and dried scallop soup
節瓜瑤柱湯
Traditionally believed to quench thirst and refresh in summer without being too cold.
Neutral平1 h 35 min
Where this comes from
The traditional uses on this page, and where we read them.
- Hong Kong Department of Health, Chinese Medicine Regulatory Office, "中醫飲食養生 - 五穀與蔬果"
- Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, "中醫食療——食物種類分析" (Dr Lam To-yee, registered Chinese medicine practitioner, 2022)
- HKEJ 信健康, 老黃瓜 article (Chinese medicine practitioner)
- Guangdong Provincial Administration of TCM, 五指毛桃 soup note
- Hong Kong Department of Health, CMRO, "中藥趣談" (五指毛桃 entry)
- Me & Qi TCM herb database: yi-yi-ren
Traditional home cooking, not medical advice. Check with your doctor, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing, or on medication.
