Angled luffa and fish slice soup with lai fun
Sweet, juicy angled luffa and silky grass carp slices in a quick broth over springy lai fun noodles — cooling and filling.
- 25 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types tend to get oily skin, spots and a bitter taste, and hot, humid Grain Rain sets them off. Luffa clears heat, resolves phlegm and cools the blood, grass carp settles the stomach without heating, and the light broth helps clear damp-heat.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min- 1Toss the fish with a little salt and the cornflour. Peel the hard ridges off the luffa and cut it into chunks.
- 2Boil the lai fun for 3 minutes until soft, rinse under cold water and drain into bowls.
- 3Bring the water to the boil with the ginger, add the luffa and cook for 3 minutes until soft, then add the fish and cook for 1 minute until white.
- 4Season with salt, pour the soup over the noodles and scatter with coriander.
Cautions
- Luffa is cooling; go easy if your digestion runs cold or your stools are loose.
Chef's tips
- Only peel off the hard ridges and leave some green skin so the luffa keeps its colour and shape.
The TCM view
Angled luffa is sweet and cool, clearing heat, resolving phlegm, cooling the blood and opening the channels. Grass carp is sweet and warm, warming the stomach and harmonising the middle. Lai fun is sweet, neutral and easy to digest, and coriander is pungent and warm, opening the appetite. Mainly cooling with gentle balance, so it clears damp-heat without hurting the stomach.
