Ginger lamb & daikon noodle soup
Hotpot lamb slices with daikon and shiitake in a ginger broth with a hint of white pepper — warms cold hands in minutes.
- 40 min
- Serves 2
- Quick soup
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang Deficiency means feeling the cold most, and Major Cold brings icy hands and feet. Lamb warms the kidneys, ginger and a little white pepper chase out cold, and daikon keeps qi moving so the lamb won't overheat you — a hot bowl in 25 minutes.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min- 1Soak the shiitake until soft, slice them and keep the soaking water. Peel the daikon and cut into thick batons; slice the ginger and cut the spring onions into lengths.
- 2Fry the ginger and the white parts of the spring onions in a little oil until fragrant, then add 1 litre of water with the mushroom water, daikon and shiitake.
- 3Bring to the boil, then cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until the daikon turns translucent.
- 4Cook the noodles in another pan for about 2 minutes, drain and put in bowls.
- 5Bring the soup back to the boil, add the lamb slice by slice and cook for 30–60 seconds until it changes colour, then turn off the heat and season with salt and white pepper.
- 6Pour over the noodles, scatter with the spring onion greens and coriander, and eat hot.
Cautions
- Skip the lamb and pepper while you have a sore throat, spots or a dry, 'heaty' mouth.
Chef's tips
- A 25-minute lunch at home: supermarket freezers stock hotpot lamb slices — thaw a portion in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Worried about a gamey taste? Add two extra slices of ginger to the broth and a splash of Shaoxing wine when cooking the lamb.
The TCM view
Lamb is sweet and warm and warms the middle and kidneys; old ginger and spring onion are pungent and warm and disperse cold; white pepper is pungent and hot, warming the stomach in small amounts; daikon is pungent, sweet and cool and moves qi, tempering the lamb's heat; shiitake is sweet and neutral. Warming without drying — right for Major Cold, and it avoids spring 'heatiness'.
