Lotus Root and Pueraria thomsonii Soup (莲藕粉葛汤)

Lotus root and Pueraria thomsonii are very nutritious and you can simply imagine the goodness of the soup brewed with both of them!

Here's some information about lotus roots (click here for image) and Pueraria thomsonii (click here for image):


Ground mature lotus root powder makes wonderful thick soup and dessert soup. It also stops diarrhea, clears Heat and improve appetite. Lotus roots contain much iron, vitamins B & C. The rich fibre content of lotus roots stimulates peristalsis and relieves constipation. Drinking 2 to 3 glasses of lotus root juice a day can stop bleeding of the esophagus an stomach (vomiting blood); bleeding of the rectum, intestines or stomach (blood in feces); nose bleeding or gum bleeding. Lotus root soup also serves similar purposes. Patients with high fever can drink it cold, while those with steady temperature should drink it warm.


extracted from http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/food_articles/lotus_roots_medicinal_properties.php

If you are Chinese-literate, you can read this for more information about Pueraria thomsonii.


Lotus Root and Pueraria thomsonii Soup (莲藕粉葛汤)

Note: Do not use a metal pot to cook this soup or the lotus root will turn blackish...

Ingredients:

• 250g lotus root (莲藕 )
• 250g Pueraria thomsonii (粉葛)
• a handful of dried red dates (红枣) (soaked and pitted)
• 250g pork ribs
• 3 chicken breast bones
• 1.5-2litres of water
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Remove the skin of the lotus root and Pueraria thomsonii and cut into slices and chunks respectively.
2. Blanch pork ribs and chicken bones.
3. Put all the ingredients into a claypot and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer on low heat for 2hours.
5. Add salt to taste and serve.

I added salt to our portion and saved the rest as stock to cook Alicia's porridge. I used it to cook her porridge last night and she managed to accept the new taste in the porridge! :D Hopefully it isn't just a one-off performance!

For toddler's consumption:

• You can serve this as a soup to the toddler too instead of using it as a stock for cooking porridge. :)
• If the child finds the lotus root too hard, you can shred it into strips.