Hairy gourd and sea bass rice vermicelli soup
Hairy gourd simmered with ginger, then sea bass slices poached just until done and served with rice vermicelli — clear, gentle and short on ingredients for sensitive constitutions.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Poach
- Easy
Why it suits you: Special, allergy-prone constitutions do best with simple, light food and few ingredients, and Major Heat's sweaty, muggy days make skin rashes and itching more likely. Hairy gourd is sweet and neutral, clearing heat, generating fluids and supporting the spleen — the Cantonese summer gourd. Sea bass is tender, has few bones, strengthens the spleen and is far less likely to trigger allergies than shellfish.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Toss the fish slices gently with a pinch of salt and the cornflour and leave for 10 minutes. Soak the vermicelli in warm water until soft.
- 2Scrape the skin off the hairy gourd and cut into strips. Bring the water and ginger to the boil and cook the gourd for 8 minutes until tender.
- 3Add the vermicelli and cook for 2 minutes, then add the fish one slice at a time. As soon as it returns to the boil, turn off the heat and let the fish cook through in the residual heat, about 1 minute.
- 4Season with salt and scatter over the coriander.
Cautions
- Avoid if you are allergic to fish, and watch for small bones.
Chef's tips
- Add the fish one slice at a time and let the residual heat finish it for silky slices; scrape the gourd lightly to keep a little green.
The TCM view
Hairy gourd is sweet and neutral, clearing heat, generating fluids, relieving summer heat and promoting urination — a summer staple in southern China. Sea bass is sweet and neutral, benefiting the spleen and stomach and tonifying the liver and kidneys; the Song-dynasty Jiayou Bencao says it 'tonifies the five organs, strengthens sinew and bone and harmonises the intestines'. Gentle and balanced, it nourishes without adding damp or heat.
