White Dew · Tea break · Phlegm-Dampness
Taro & adzuki bean soup with aged tangerine peel
A barely sweet adzuki bean and tangerine peel soup with soft, floury taro — light and clean, never cloying.
- 1 hr 20 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
NeutralClears damp, aids digestionMoves qi, resolves phlegm
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness means a heavy body and a greasy-feeling mouth, and Hong Kong is still humid at White Dew. Adzuki beans drain damp, tangerine peel moves qi and clears phlegm, and taro supports digestion — little sugar, small bowl, nothing clogging.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 70 min- 1Rinse the adzuki beans and soak for 2 hours, or overnight. Soften the tangerine peel and scrape off the white pith.
- 2Bring the water to the boil, add the beans and peel, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer for 40 minutes.
- 3Wearing gloves, peel and dice the taro; add it and cook for 15–20 minutes until floury, then stir in the sugar if using.
- 4Have one small bowl warm — mostly broth with a little taro, not a big dessert portion.
Cautions
- Raw taro sap can make your hands itch — wear gloves — and always cook taro right through before eating.
Chef's tips
- Chek siu dau are the slim, dark red beans sold in herbal and dried-goods shops — not the round red beans used for red bean paste.
The TCM view
Adzuki beans are sweet, sour and neutral and drain dampness; aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm — it moves qi, strengthens digestion and dries damp phlegm; taro is sweet, pungent and neutral and supports the spleen while dispersing phlegm. Mostly neutral with a touch of warmth, it clears damp without upsetting the stomach.
