Skip to content
Herbs & Cultures

Chinese medical traditions →

Watercress and spare rib soup with dried figs

A cooling family soup with watercress, figs and apricot kernels.

Traditional use

Time
Preparation 10 min (plus 1 hour soaking), cooking 2 h 30 min
Makes
4 people
Image of Watercress and spare rib soup with dried figs
Alpha from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0

Watercress is full of vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E and is regarded as cooling and good for the lungs. Figs and apricot kernels round out the taste.

Ingredients

  • 350 g watercress
  • 3 litres water
  • 4 dried figs, halved
  • 2 tbsp sweet apricot kernel (bei xing ren)
  • 2 tbsp bitter apricot kernel (ku xing ren)
  • 500 g spare ribs, scalded with boiling water
  • A few slices of fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Step by step

  1. Rinse the watercress well, soak it for an hour in lightly salted water and rinse again.
  2. Bring the water to the boil with the figs, apricot kernels, spare ribs and ginger.
  3. Boil for 20 minutes on high heat and then simmer gently for an hour uncovered.
  4. Add the watercress and simmer for another hour.
  5. Season with salt.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

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

  • Caution

    Europe · Food · № 654

    Watercress

    Nasturtium officinale

    Traditionally attributed effects: rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E; used to support detoxification, cool body heat and support the lungs.

    Kallawaya healing knowledge+1
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 272

    Apricot

    Prunus armeniaca

    Traditionally attributed effects: cough-suppressing, astringent, antibacterial, pain-relieving, diuretic, anti-inflammatory; wild cherry suppresses cough.

    Chinese medical traditions+2
  • Caution

    Asia · Food · № 801

    Fig

    Ficus carica

    Traditionally attributed effects: dried figs make Chinese soups naturally sweet, such as the watercress and spare-rib soup and the eight-treasure soup; they are regarded as moistening for lung and bowel.

    Chinese medical traditions+3
  • Caution

    Asia · Herb · № 1

    Ginger

    Zingiber officinale

    Traditionally used for nausea and digestive discomfort; it has a warming flavor.

    Ayurveda+6Folklore

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.