Popo's Kitchen: Chinese Beauty Soup

Written and Photographed by Billy Cheung
Edited by The Fête Chinoise Team

Our Canadian winters are quite harsh and dry, which is hard on anyone’s skin. Personally, I have eczema, which means my skin is normally dry and cracked, and it usually worsens in the wintertime. Those who struggle with eczema know that it can become physically painful, beyond just being an irritant and an eyesore. To combat this, my grandma and mom would come up with a recipe of “beauty soup” to help remedy my skin, applying some inherited knowledge of Chinese medicine and holistic wellness. There are many variations of this beauty soup, but all recipes typically include ingredients used in Traditional Chinese Medicine,  due to their detoxifying and immune-boosting effects.

“Those who struggle with eczema know that it can become physically painful, beyond just being an irritant and an eyesore.”

My family’s version of this soup is simple to make and is also delicious! The slight citrus notes from the tangerine peel pairs well with the earthy flavours of the beans and barley. The addition of the pear gives the soup a freshness and gentle sweetness that help to balance all the dried ingredients. Whether in the winter or spring, a nourishing soup is comforting and allows us to feel connected to our culture and family roots!

You may need to go to a specialty grocery store or a Chinese pharmacy (sometimes paired with a Chinese Medicine doctor’s practice) to pick up some of these ingredients, since they might not be available in your local supermarket. Because many of the ingredients come in a dehydrated or dried form, they may sit in your pantry for a long period of time. Once you make this soup, you’ll want to drink it more often, not only for the taste but also for the benefits for your skin.

Each ingredient has healthy benefits, which I was also curious about, and researched in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Goji Berries balance the Qi in your liver and kidneys and helps with your vision.
Dried Yam nourishes your spleen and kidneys.
Chinaroot detoxifies your liver and stomach.
Lotus Seeds strengthens your kidneys and heart.
Tangerine Peel targets the spleen and lungs and helps with coughing.

Here’s how you can make this at home yourself!

Popo’s Chinese Beauty Soup RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1.25 hours

Ingredients:

2L of water

20g of Dried Goji Berries

20g of Dried Red Dates

20g of Dried Sliced Yams

20g of Smilax Glabra Root (Chinaroot)

20g of Red Beans

20g of Barley

20g of Lotus Seeds

20g of Brown Sugar

1 Ya Pear (Chinese White Pear) Peeled and Chunked

1 Dried Tangerine Peel

1. Rince all of the dried ingredients thoroughly (tangerine peel, lotus seeds, barley, red beans, chinaroot, yams, dates, goji berries).

2. In a small pot or a chinese clay pot, bring 2L of water to a boil.

3. 
Once the water is boiling, add in all the ingredients except for the pear and then cover the pot.

4.Turn the heat down to low and let the soup simmer for 1 hour or until the barley and red beans begin to soften up.

5.
Finally, add the pear into the soup and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.

6.To serve, remove the tangerine peel, dried yams and china root from the pot. The remaining ingredients can be eaten and enjoyed in the soup.

About the writer, Billy Cheung

Billy is an enthusiast of all things related to food and cooking. His passion developed when he was young since he grew up in a family of restauranteurs and cooks. He believes food and culture go hand-in-hand and wants to share his stories, opinions, and passions with everyone.