Spinach, wood-ear & pork liver soup with onion scrambled eggs
A quick ginger-scented soup of pork liver, spinach and wood-ear fungus, with sweet onion scrambled eggs and rice.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Quick soup
- Easy
Why it suits you: Blood Stasis shows as a dull complexion, easy bruising or period pain, and the warm-cold swings of Awakening of Insects make circulation sluggish. Spinach and wood-ear help blood flow, ginger and onion warm and move it, and pork liver nourishes blood — all eaten warm.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Soak the wood-ear for 15 minutes until swollen, trim the hard base and tear into pieces. Soak and rinse the spinach well to remove grit, then cut into lengths. Slice the onion.
- 2Cut the liver into 0.5 cm slices, soak in fresh water for 10 minutes to draw out the blood, pat dry and mix with a little salt, the cornflour and a little oil.
- 3Heat a little oil and fry the onion until soft and sweet, pour in the beaten eggs and stir until just set, then plate.
- 4Bring 1 litre of water to the boil with the ginger, add the wood-ear and boil for 5 minutes, then add the spinach for 1 minute.
- 5Add the liver and boil for 1–2 minutes until just cooked with no blood inside. Turn off the heat, salt to taste and serve with the eggs and rice.
Cautions
- Go easy on wood-ear if you take blood thinners such as warfarin or have surgery coming up.
- Avoid pork liver in pregnancy (very high in vitamin A) — use sliced lean pork instead; limit it if you have high cholesterol or gout.
Chef's tips
- Choose liver that is bright red, glossy and springy, and slice it evenly so it all cooks at the same rate.
The TCM view
Spinach is sweet and cool, nourishing blood and freeing the vessels; wood-ear is sweet and neutral and helps blood move; onion is pungent and warm and moves qi and blood; ginger is pungent and warm and dispels cold; pork liver is sweet, bitter and warm and nourishes liver blood. Warm balances cool, so blood moves without being depleted — fitting for spring liver care.
