Bean curd sheet, ginkgo & barley sweet soup
A dessert-shop classic: bean curd sticks simmered until they melt into a milky soup, with chewy ginkgo nuts and soft Job's tears — soothing in dry autumn weather.
- 1 hr 45 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Balanced types just need to eat with the seasons. Frost's Descent is the last term of autumn: mornings and evenings turn cool but the air stays dry, bringing dry mouths and itchy throats. Bean curd moistens, Job's tears support digestion and a few ginkgo nuts settle the lungs — a warm bowl for the whole family.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 90 min- 1Rinse the Job's tears and soak for 1 hour. Rinse the bean curd sticks, soak until soft and break into short pieces.
- 2Shell the ginkgo nuts, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes, rub off the skins and push out the bitter green cores with a cocktail stick.
- 3Bring the water to the boil with the Job's tears and bean curd. Boil for 10 minutes, then simmer for 1 hour, stirring now and then, until the bean curd melts and the soup turns milky.
- 4Add the ginkgo nuts for 20 minutes, then stir in the rock sugar until dissolved. For egg ribbons, turn off the heat and slowly drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring.
Cautions
- Ginkgo nuts are mildly toxic: always cook and core them, and keep to no more than 10 per adult per serving (half that for children). Go easy on Job's tears in pregnancy.
Chef's tips
- Choose pale, brittle bean curd sticks — they melt more easily. Removing the ginkgo cores also takes away the bitterness.
The TCM view
Bean curd sheet is sweet and neutral, clearing the lungs, nourishing the stomach and easing dryness. Job's tears are sweet, bland and slightly cool, strengthening the spleen and draining damp. Ginkgo is sweet, bitter, astringent and neutral and calms coughs, but is mildly toxic, so it must be cooked, cored and eaten in moderation. Rock sugar moistens the lungs. Sweet and neutral, it moistens without being cloying.
