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Spare rib soup with lotus root and four herbs

Soup with dang shen, yu zhu, sha shen and lily bulb for recovery after cough and colds.

Traditional use

Time
Preparation 15 min, cooking 2 h 30 min
Makes
4 people
Image of Spare rib soup with lotus root and four herbs
Zheng Zhou · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dang shen counters fatigue and strengthens spleen, stomach and lungs; sha shen nourishes and cools the lungs; yu zhu is good for the stomach and wound healing; lily bulb moistens the lungs. Together they support recovery after cough and colds from built-up heat.

Ingredients

  • 3 litres water
  • 20 g dang shen, rinsed
  • 20 g yu zhu, rinsed
  • 20 g sha shen, rinsed
  • 15 g dried lily bulb (bai he), rinsed
  • 1 strip dried tangerine peel (chen pi), soaked
  • 300 g lotus root, peeled, in thick slices
  • 500 g spare ribs, scalded with boiling water
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Step by step

  1. Bring the water to the boil and add everything except the salt.
  2. Boil for 20 minutes on high heat.
  3. Simmer gently uncovered for 2 hours.
  4. Season with salt.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 639

    Codonopsis (dang shen)

    Codonopsis pilosula

    Traditionally attributed effects: reduces fatigue, supports the production of blood cells and strengthens spleen, stomach and lungs.

    Chinese medical traditions+1
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 640

    Fragrant Solomon's seal (yu zhu)

    Polygonatum odoratum

    Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes the stomach and promotes the production of body fluids; for fatigue, poor appetite, weak digestion and exhaustion.

    Chinese medical traditions+1
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 649

    Glehnia root (sha shen)

    Glehnia littoralis

    Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes the lungs and is good for the stomach; for persistent dry cough and to dissolve phlegm.

    Chinese medical traditions
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 205

    Lily

    Lilium spp.

    The bulb scales of some lilies (bai he) are used in Chinese medicine for dry cough, restlessness and sleeplessness after fever. Lilies are deadly poisonous to cats.

    Chinese medical traditions+1Folklore
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 131

    Sacred lotus

    Nelumbo nucifera

    Almost every part is used: seeds for diarrhoea and restlessness, rhizome as food, leaf for 'summer heat'. Scientific evidence is mostly laboratory research.

    Ayurveda+3Folklore
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 730

    Tangerine peel (chen pi)

    Citrus reticulata

    Traditionally attributed effects: the ripe peel (chen pi) moves the qi of spleen and lung and dissolves phlegm; the green peel (qing pi) moves liver qi.

    Chinese medical traditions+2

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.