Carp and adzuki bean soup with stir-fried sweet potato leaves
Carp pan-fried, then simmered with adzuki beans and dried tangerine peel into a milky, sweet soup that drains damp, with garlicky sweet potato leaves alongside.
- 1 hr 35 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Medium
Why it suits you: A phlegm-damp constitution tends to hold water, and the rains of Grain in Ear leave you heavy, puffy-ankled and drowsy. Adzuki beans drain water, carp strengthens the spleen and clears damp, and tangerine peel moves qi and resolves phlegm, so the soup is light rather than rich. Sweet potato leaves keep things moving for a clean, simple supper.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 75 min- 1Rinse and soak the adzuki beans for 2 hours. Wash the carp, remove the black membrane inside and pat dry, then fry with the ginger until lightly golden on both sides.
- 2Bring the water to the boil, add the fish, beans and tangerine peel and boil hard for 15 minutes until the soup turns milky. Simmer gently for 1 hour more and season with salt.
- 3Wash and drain the sweet potato leaves. Fry the garlic in hot oil, add the leaves and stir-fry over high heat until wilted, season lightly with salt and serve with the soup.
Cautions
- Carp is bony, so take care with the soup and fish; people on potassium-restricted diets should limit sweet potato leaves.
Chef's tips
- Heat the pan well and dry the fish before frying so it doesn't stick; a muslin soup bag keeps the bones out of the soup.
The TCM view
Carp is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen and stomach and draining water to reduce swelling. Adzuki beans are sweet, sour and neutral, draining water and resolving toxins. Dried tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, moving qi, drying damp and resolving phlegm. Sweet potato leaves are sweet and neutral, boosting qi and easing the bowels. Together they strengthen the spleen, drain damp and reduce swelling.
