Five-finger fig root & poria chicken soup
A lightly coconut-scented chicken soup with Hong Kong's favourite soup root — builds qi and drains damp on muggy days.
- 1 hr 55 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Qi Deficiency means tiring easily and a weak appetite, and Rain Water's damp makes the body feel even heavier. Five-finger fig root builds qi and drains damp without overheating, and chicken soup is gentle and easy to digest.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 100 min- 1Rinse the five-finger fig root, poria and fox nuts and soak for 15 minutes. Soften the tangerine peel and scrape off the white pith.
- 2Chop the chicken into pieces and remove the skin. Start it in cold water, boil for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse.
- 3Put everything except the soy sauce into boiling water, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer gently for 1½ hours.
- 4Salt just before turning off the heat, and skim the oil off the surface with a spoon for a cleaner taste.
- 5Lift out the chicken to dip in soy sauce, and serve with rice and the soup — stop at 70% full.
Cautions
- Buy five-finger fig root from a trusted herb shop and never forage it yourself — it can be mixed up with the highly toxic heartbreak grass (Gelsemium).
- Pause tonic soups like this during a cold or fever.
Chef's tips
- In the morning, put everything in a slow cooker with boiling water on low for 6 hours, and the soup is ready when you get home.
The TCM view
Five-finger fig root is sweet and neutral; it strengthens the spleen and lungs and drains damp, earning the name 'southern astragalus'. Poria is sweet, bland and neutral and leaches out damp; fox nut is sweet, astringent and neutral and steadies the spleen and kidneys; chicken and red dates are sweet and warm and build qi. A little tangerine peel keeps the tonic from feeling heavy.
