Luffa, wood ear and fish puff soup
Sweet luffa, fish puffs that soak up the broth and a little wood ear — a light, heat-clearing soup ready in fifteen minutes.
- 30 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: A balanced constitution only needs to go with the weather in Grain Buds: clear heat, drain damp and avoid heavy, greasy food. Luffa clears heat, wood ear keeps things moving and fish puffs add sweet-savoury protein, so this soup with rice makes a light but filling summer dinner.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min- 1Soak the wood ear for 20 minutes, trim the hard ends and rinse. Peel the ridges off the luffa and cut into wedges.
- 2Bring the water to the boil, add the ginger and wood ear and simmer for 5 minutes.
- 3Add the fish puffs for 3 minutes, then the luffa for 3 minutes until just soft.
- 4Season with salt and a little oil, turn off the heat and scatter with coriander.
Cautions
- Luffa is cool; go easy if your digestion runs cold or you get loose stools.
Chef's tips
- Add the luffa last and turn off the heat as soon as it softens so it stays green and doesn't turn mushy.
The TCM view
Luffa is sweet and cool, clearing heat, resolving phlegm and unblocking the channels. Wood ear is sweet and neutral, nourishing qi and blood and moistening. Fish puffs, made from fish, are sweet and neutral and strengthen the spleen; ginger is pungent and warm and tempers the luffa's coolness. Light and balanced, it clears heat and generates fluids in the humid season.
