Asian Pears Herbal Soup with Dried Figs

This article was initially published on Chinese Soup Pot on December 15, 2011.

By Sharon Lee, Author & Photographer – ChineseSoupPot.com

As we are in the midst of the dry cold season, I was reminded of a delicious moisturizing soup that my family enjoys during this time of year.  This soup, made with Ya Li Asian pears, dried figs, and a few simple Chinese herbs, is a gentle nourishing tonic that moistens the lungs and skin from the inside out.  This soup has a wonderful light sweet taste and it is very easy to make.

Create a Harmonious, Balanced Energy

This soup is also especially suitable for those with a dry cough or dry throat.  That is because this soup uses several Chinese herbs that work synergistically to moisturize.  Namely, the dried lily bulb, yu zhu, and lady bell (adenophora) root.  These herbs moisturize and have a slight cooling effect to balance the 燥火 (dry fire or yang) energy according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine.  This recipe, along with many others on Chinese Soup Pot, exemplifies the way in which the Cantonese have utilized Chinese Food Therapy for thousands of years to create a harmonious, balanced energy in the inner body to maintain good health.

If a vegetarian version of this soup is desired, simply omit the pork from this recipe.  In place of the meat, I would use more figs or even add honey to sweeten the soup.  If using honey, add it to the soup at the end after the cooking process so that more of the natural honey nutrients are preserved.

Ingredients:

·  2 ya li pears*

·  4 dried figs

·  1/2 bunch of lady bell (adenophora) roots (about 1.25 oz)

·  0.75 oz of yu zhu

·  1/3 cup of dried lily bulbs

·  1 white fungus, soaked overnight

·  4 slices of Chinese yam

·  1 flat tbsp each of bitter and sweet almond

·  1.5 lb of lean pork, marinated with some salt

·  2 slices of ginger

·  10 cups of water

Instructions:

1. Boil a small pot of water to blanch the meat. In the meanwhile, cut the pork to 2 inch chunks. When the water boils, add the pork. Blanch, drain, and set aside.
2. In a separate large clay pot**, boil 10 cups of water.
3. Rinse and soak all ingredients for 5 minutes except for the pears, dried figs, and Chinese yam. Cut the softened white fungus to 1/2 inch pieces.
4. When the soup water boils, add the blanched pork and all ingredients except for the pears. Cover and cook on high heat until the liquid bubbles. Reduce the heat to Low and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, wash, core, and cut the pears to quarters. After the 30 minutes, add the pear quarters in. Cover and simmer for another 2 hours. When done, turn off the heat, season with salt (or honey if making vegetarian version) as desired. Serve hot.

Notes
* Ya Li Pear is the variety traditionally used with this soup. If you cannot find this pear, other types of Asian pears can be used although the sweetness and flavor may be slightly different.
** Always use clay or stoneware to cook herbs. Metal will react with some herbs.

This recipe is written by Sharon Lee, author and photographer at the Chinese Soup Pot website.  With an educational background in Food Science and Nutrition, she created the health-focused soup recipe site with an aim to share and preserve the centuries-old Chinese soup making art and tradition.

Featured image adapted from the photograph “Asian Pears” by beautifulcataya, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.