Shepherd's purse, water chestnut & tofu thick soup
Fragrant shepherd's purse, crunchy water chestnut and silky tofu in a light thick soup — clears away New Year richness.
- 35 min
- Serves 3
- Boil
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-Heat brings a bitter taste in the mouth and spots, and New Year fried food, meat and alcohol make it worse. Shepherd's purse, water chestnut and tofu clear heat and drain damp without grease; it's still cool at Start of Spring, so a little ginger and serving it hot keep the chill off.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 15 min- 1Trim the roots and yellow leaves from the shepherd's purse, wash well in several changes of water, blanch for 1 minute, squeeze dry and chop finely.
- 2Peel and finely dice the water chestnuts. Soak the shiitake until soft and dice, keeping the soaking water. Cut the tofu into 1 cm cubes.
- 3Bring 800 ml water (including the mushroom water) to the boil with the ginger and shiitake, add the water chestnuts and tofu and boil over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- 4Add the shepherd's purse and salt, then stir in the cornflour mixture until lightly thickened. Turn off the heat, drizzle in the egg whites in a circle and stir gently into ribbons.
- 5Add a few drops of sesame oil, remove the ginger and serve hot with white or brown rice.
Cautions
- Water chestnut and shepherd's purse are cooling — don't overdo it if your digestion runs cold or you often have loose stools.
Chef's tips
- Look for fresh shepherd's purse at wet-market veg stalls or Shanghainese grocers; frozen shepherd's purse works too — thaw and squeeze dry.
The TCM view
Shepherd's purse is sweet and cool, clearing heat, draining damp and calming the liver — apt when spring liver energy runs high. Water chestnut is sweet and cold, clearing heat and phlegm and easing food stagnation; tofu is sweet and cool and clears heat; shiitake supports digestion; a little pungent, warm ginger protects the stomach from the cooling ingredients. Clear, never greasy, and drains damp without harming yin.
