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Herbs & Cultures

Chinese medical traditions →

Four-herb tonic soup

Warming soup with fox nut, Chinese yam, lotus seed, fu ling and Job's tears.

Traditional use

Time
Preparation 10 min (plus overnight soaking), cooking 1 h 10 min
Makes
4–6 people
Fox nut (qian shi)

Four classical tonics (fox nut, Chinese yam, lotus seed and fu ling) with Job's tears, which drain dampness and are nourishing. The soup is regarded as warming; it calms the mind and strengthens the life energy.

Ingredients

  • 15 g Job's tears (yi yi ren), soaked overnight
  • 15 slices Chinese yam (huai shan), rinsed
  • 10 g fu ling, thinly sliced, rinsed
  • 10 g fox nut (qian shi), rinsed
  • 15 g lotus seed (lian zi), soaked overnight
  • 2 litres water
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 3 slices fresh ginger
  • 1½ tsp salt

Step by step

  1. Bring the herbs with the water to the boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the rice wine, ginger and salt, mix and bring back to the boil.
  3. Simmer covered for about an hour.
  4. Serve hot, with a dash of rice wine if you like.

Tips

  • With diced chicken it becomes a heartier soup.
  • Garnish with coriander.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

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

  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 646

    Fox nut (qian shi)

    Euryale ferox

    Traditionally attributed effects: a tonic for long life that according to tradition counters ageing and gives strength.

    Ayurveda+1
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 635

    Chinese yam (shan yao)

    Dioscorea polystachya (syn. D. opposita)

    Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens spleen, stomach and lungs, helps regulate the hormone system in women and is said to lower blood sugar.

    Chinese medical traditions+2
  • 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 · Mushroom · № 146

    Poria (fu ling)

    Wolfiporia cocos

    One of the most widely used remedies in Chinese medicine, for fluid retention, poor digestion and restless sleep. Clinical research on fu ling alone is scarce.

    Chinese medical traditions+4
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 645

    Job's tears (coix seed)

    Coix lacryma-jobi

    Traditionally attributed effects: nourishing grain that drives dampness from the body; for arthritis and rheumatism, diuretic, and to relieve a full chest and stomach ulcers.

    Chinese medical traditions+2

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.