Lotus seed and lily bulb lean pork soup
A clear, gently sweet slow soup to calm the heart, with silky steamed tofu — just right for hot, sleepless nights.
- 1 hr 45 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yin Deficiency already brings a dry mouth, restlessness and poor sleep, and heavy sweating in Minor Heat drains yin further. Lotus seeds and lily bulb calm the heart, lean pork nourishes yin, and the soup replaces lost fluids, so you settle and sleep more easily.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 90 min- 1Soak the lotus seeds and lily bulb for 30 minutes. If the lotus seeds have green cores, pick them out if you dislike bitterness — leaving them in clears heart heat better.
- 2Cut the pork into large chunks, start it in cold water, boil for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse.
- 3Bring the water to the boil, add the pork, lotus seeds, lily bulb, candied dates and peel, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes. Salt just before serving.
- 4Fifteen minutes before eating, cut the tofu into thick slices on a plate and steam for 6–8 minutes. Pour off the water, drizzle with soy sauce and scatter with spring onion.
- 5Serve the soup with rice and the tofu; the soup pork is good dipped in a little soy sauce.
Cautions
- Lotus seeds are astringent — go easy if you are constipated or bloated.
Chef's tips
- The rice cooker's soup setting works too. Fresh lily bulb needs no soaking — add it for the last 10 minutes.
The TCM view
Lotus seeds are sweet, astringent and neutral and steady the heart and digestion; lily bulb is sweet and slightly cold, clears heart heat and moistens the lungs; lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral and nourishes yin; candied dates harmonise and a little peel keeps things moving; tofu is cool and eases thirst. Gently cooling without weakening digestion.
