Mulberry and black bean pork shank soup
Dried mulberries and black beans simmered with pork shank into a deep red, gently sweet soup that nourishes yin and blood.
- 2 hr 15 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yin-deficient people often have a dry mouth and poor sleep, and Qingming is the time to nourish the liver and kidneys. Mulberries and black beans both feed liver and kidney yin and blood, and simmered with pork shank they make a moistening soup that is neither heavy nor drying.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 120 min- 1Dry-fry the black beans in a pan over low heat until the skins split, then soak for 1 hour. Soak the tangerine peel and scrape off the pith.
- 2Put the whole pork shank into cold water, bring to the boil and blanch for 3 minutes, then rinse and cut into large chunks.
- 3Put everything except the salt into a pot, bring to the boil over high heat, then simmer on low for 2 hours.
- 4Season with salt. Drink the soup and eat the pork with rice and a plate of blanched choy sum.
Cautions
- Mulberries are cold, so use fewer if your stools tend to be loose.
Chef's tips
- Toasting the black beans first helps them soften and removes their raw bean taste.
The TCM view
Mulberries are sweet and cold, nourishing yin and blood and moistening dryness. Black beans are sweet and neutral, tonifying the kidneys and moving blood. Pork shank is sweet, salty and neutral, nourishing yin. Red dates are sweet and warm, nourishing blood and calming the mind, and a little tangerine peel keeps the tonic from stagnating.
