The weather has been pretty crazy lately. One minute it is raining incessantly, the next minute, Mr Sun is blazing mercilessly on the ground. As such, the kids have been down with cough and runny nose. They have been coughing for 2 weeks now so I thought i had better start being more hardworking in terms of home remedy.
First up, it is my Daikon & green carrot soup. This is a hot favourite in our household. This soup is great for dispelling heat. Daikon itself has several benefits including removing body toxins, aids digestion and kidney functions, it is also a good decongestant and if you find yourself having a breakout, this soup is for you!
We call it the 臭臭汤(smelly soup) as it emits a rather 'unique' smell when boiling. Small K has been rather heaty of late. His mucus is green and his breath is so bad! It doesn't help that it takes a lot of reminder before he starts drinking his water. So hopefully this soup helps. These two vegetables are known to be cooling so pregnant women should avoid it. If you are afraid that it is too cooling for the family in general, you could add a few slices of ginger.
These are the main casts of my soup, in case you are wondering what's a Daikon and a green radish. I was told by a TCM that we should not add the typical orange carrots as it cancels out the effects of Daikon.
Here's my recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized Daikon
- 1 green radish
- 3 dried scallops
- 1 honey date
- 300g of pork ribs
- 1 tsp of Chinese South almonds (南杏）
- 1 tsp of Chinese North almonds (北杏）
- approximately 2.5litres of water (this is just an estimation. I basically adjust according to the size of my ingredients)
- 2 slices of ginger (optional if you are afraid that the soup is too "cooling)
Instructions
- Blanch the pork ribs in boiling water and set aside.
- In a slow pot or a separate pot, boil water for soup.
- Peel and cut the green radish and daikon.
- Rince all ingredients
- Add the pork in once water has boiled. After approximately 10minutes, add the rest of the ingredients.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours if you are doing it over the stove. I often use my slow pot and will turn it on for approximately 4hours. I usually prepare it the night before when the kids are sleeping so that I will have nice soup for lunch the next day. I don't sleep much anyway.
- When ready, sprinkle a pinch of salt to taste and serve.
A good soup is really a great addition to the meal! So why not try this today?
