Luffa and pork slice soup with rice noodles
Sweet, tender luffa and silky pork in a clear ginger broth over rice noodles, with no soy sauce or MSG — gentle and reassuring for a sensitive system.
- 20 min
- Serves 2
- Boil
- Easy
Why it suits you: As Start of Summer heats up, the swing between hot streets and cold air-conditioning can set off itchy skin and hay fever in a Special (allergic) constitution. Luffa clears heat and unblocks the channels, pork and rice noodles are low-allergen staples, and with no soy sauce or MSG this is a plain, comforting bowl you can trust.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min- 1Peel the tough ridges off the luffa, leaving a little green, and cut it into wedges; toss the pork with a pinch of the salt, the cornflour and the oil.
- 2Soak the rice noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes until soft, then drain into bowls.
- 3Bring the water to the boil with the ginger, add the luffa and goji berries and simmer for 3 minutes, then add the pork, separate the slices and cook for 1 minute until just done. Season with the remaining salt.
- 4Pour the soup over the noodles and eat straight away.
Cautions
- Luffa is cooling, so don't drink too much of the soup if your digestion runs cold or your stools are loose; leave out the goji berries if they disagree with you.
Chef's tips
- Leave a little green on the luffa when peeling so it stays bright and firm instead of turning dark.
The TCM view
Luffa is sweet and cool, clearing heat, resolving phlegm, cooling the blood and unblocking the channels. Lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin and moistening dryness. Rice noodles are sweet and neutral and nourish the stomach; ginger balances the luffa's coolness, and goji berries nourish the liver and kidneys. Gentle and moistening — suited to the Special constitution.
