Slow-boiled soup 老火湯
Prunella and black bean soup
夏枯草黑豆瘦肉湯haa6 fu1 cou2 hak1 dau6 sau3 juk6 tong1
Traditionally eaten to clear heat. Best in hot, dry or "heaty" spells. Prunella is cold; black beans and pork are neutral.
Good for traditionally believed to calm liver fire: red eyes, irritability, a hot head.
- 20 minprep
- 2 h 30 mincook
- 6servings
- One potSpring, Summer
Eat at ? Start by …
Ingredients
Tick what you have. Watch the pot fill.
0 of 4 in the pot
Ticked = you have it. The rest goes in your cart.
-
Fresh: local Asian grocerAbout
- 2¾ quarts2.5 LWater
2 pantry items with a checked Amazon match. Buy the fresh lean pork locally or on Weee!.
Method
- Dry-toast the black beans in a pan until the skins split, then rinse.
- Rinse the prunella and put it in a soup bag.
- Put the meat in cold water, bring to a boil and let it bubble for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse off the scum.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add everything, boil hard for 20 minutes, then cover and simmer on low for 2 hours.
- Skim off any fat and season with salt just before serving.
Who should go easy
Not for people who run cold or have a weak stomach. Avoid during pregnancy.
Traditional Chinese food therapy, not medical advice. Ask your doctor if you are pregnant, on medication or unwell.
Ingredient natures from Me & Qi herb database, Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, "中醫食療——食物種類分析" (Dr Lam To-yee, registered Chinese medicine practitioner, 2022). How we judge a soup’s nature.
