Spring bamboo shoot & shredded pork buckwheat noodle soup
Crunchy spring bamboo shoots, shredded pork and pea shoots in a tangerine-peel broth over light buckwheat noodles — clean-tasting and not heavy.
- 35 min
- Serves 2
- Quick soup
- Easy
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness brings a heavy, sluggish body, and the muggy 'returning south wind' days around Awakening of Insects make it worse. Bamboo shoots resolve phlegm and are low in fat and high in fibre, tangerine peel dries damp, and a small bowl of buckwheat noodles keeps breakfast light.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min- 1The night before, peel the bamboo shoot and trim off the tough base. Start it in cold water, boil for 10 minutes to remove the bitterness, then drain, shred and refrigerate.
- 2Cut the pork into thin strips and mix with the soy sauce and cornflour. Soak the tangerine peel until soft.
- 3Bring the stock, water, tangerine peel and ginger to the boil. Add the bamboo shoot for 3 minutes, then the pork, separating the strips, and cook for 2 minutes until done.
- 4Meanwhile, cook the buckwheat noodles in another pan of boiling water for 4–5 minutes (or as the packet says), rinse briefly under hot water, drain and divide between bowls.
- 5Blanch the pea shoots in the soup for 30 seconds, then ladle the soup over the noodles and eat straight away.
Cautions
- Always boil fresh bamboo shoots thoroughly — raw shoots contain natural toxins. Go easy if your stomach is weak or sore.
Chef's tips
- A small piece of tangerine peel is plenty — too much makes the broth bitter.
- No fresh bamboo shoots? Vacuum-packed cooked ones from the supermarket work — just rinse, shred and add to the soup.
The TCM view
Spring bamboo shoots are sweet and slightly cold, clearing heat, resolving phlegm and aiding digestion; aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, moving qi and drying damp; buckwheat is sweet and cool and eases the bowels. Ginger and tangerine peel balance the coolness of the shoots and buckwheat, so the bowl is neutral overall — light and clean, helping the spleen clear damp.
