Herbal Pork Rib Soup with Huai Shan 淮山排骨汤...

This nourishing soup regulates blood pressure and promotes general health and longevity... and it is delicious too! Here’s the recipe...

The main ingredients are: fresh Huai Shan 鲜淮山 or Shan Yao 山药 (Picture a), pork ribs 排骨, carrot, Yu Zhu 玉竹, red dates 红枣, wolfberries 枸杞, white peppercorns and sea salt.

Huai Shan 淮山 or Shan Yao 山药 has high nutritional values and it contains starch, proteins, diosgenin (a natural DHEA), fiber, Vitamin B1, B2, C, calcium, phosphorous and iron. It has long been used as a Chinese medicine in treating various digestive and respiratory problems, diabetes, chronic coughs and male sexual dysfunction. It is also commonly included in the diet to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. More of its medicinal uses can be found on this Chinese website 互动百科. According to it, Huai Shan is a tonic for the spleen and stomach and can be used to treat loss of appetite, fatigue, chronic diarrhea and frequent urination due to kidney deficiency. It is believed that healthy people will also benefit from a diet that includes Huai Shan as it promotes general health and vitality, enhances immunity, increases energy and promotes longevity.

For the nutritional benefits of Yu Zhu 玉竹, wolfberries 枸杞 and red dates 红枣, please refer to Herbal Drunken Prawns 药材醉虾 and Longan Red Date Tea 桂圆红枣茶.

The preparations... wash ribs and blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes, remove and rinse with cold water. Peel Huai Shan and carrot and cut into smaller pieces. Rinse other herbs.

Let’s start... place ribs, Huai Shan, carrot, Yu Zhu, red dates, wolfberries and peppercorns in a pot of water and bring it to boil; simmer over low heat for 2 hours (Picture b) and add a little salt to taste and voilà, it’s done!

Hope you try this nutritious and savoury Herbal Pork Rib Soup with Huai Shan 淮山排骨汤... Cheers!