Pear & dried fig soup with lean pork, with pea shoots
Asian pear, dried figs and lean pork simmered for 1½ hours — sweet and moistening without being cold, with blanched pea shoots on the side.
- 1 hr 45 min
- Serves 3
- Slow-simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Damp-Heat brings a bitter taste, breakouts and sticky stools, and dry Frost's Descent adds dryness to the heat. Pear clears heat and moistens, figs ease the bowels and lean pork nourishes yin — a sweet, non-greasy soup, with blanched greens to cool.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 90 min- 1Cut the pork into large pieces, put in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, blanch for 3 minutes and rinse.
- 2Wash the pears and cut into large chunks with the skin on, removing the core. Rinse the figs, apricot kernels and tangerine peel.
- 3Bring the water to the boil, add all the soup ingredients, boil for 10 minutes, then simmer for 1½ hours. Season with salt.
- 4Blanch the pea shoots in boiling water with the oil for 1 minute, drain and serve with the soup.
Cautions
- Leave out the apricot kernels if you are allergic to nuts.
Chef's tips
- Simmer the pears with the skin on for a more moistening soup. One minute is plenty for the pea shoots.
The TCM view
Asian pear is sweet, slightly sour and cool, clearing heat, generating fluids and moistening dryness; dried fig is sweet and neutral and settles the stomach and bowels; lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral and moistens; apricot kernels moisten the lungs; tangerine peel keeps the soup from chilling the stomach. Sweet, cool and moistening.
