Watercress Soup with Luo Han Guo

Check Out: Watercress with Pork Ribs Soup Recipe

Whenever I have an irritated throat, or I feel a cough coming, I will make this soup remedy. It’s basically the watercress soup recipe, with an added luo han guo fruit (monk’s fruit). Chinese traditional medicine has always used luo han guo fruit to treat coughs, sore throat and combat phlegm. Luo han guo is also naturally sweet, so it gives a sweet taste to this soup. If you don’t like watercress that much, you may find the addition of luo han guo more pleasing to your palate.

Putting the luo han guo in a disposable soup poach.

Print

Watercress Soup with Luo Han Guo Recipe

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

• 250g pork ribs
• 1 luo han guo fruit (aka Siraitia grosvenorii, 罗汉果, 羅漢果, monk’s fruit)
• 200g watercress (西洋菜) ends trimmed, then roughly cut
  
• 10 pitted red dates
• 1 tbsp wolfberries soaked in a small bowl of water until puffy; drained
• 1300 ml water
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for about 5 minutes, to remove the scum so that you have clear (particle-free) soup later.
2. Using the back of your knife, gently crack open the luo han guo fruit. Place the smashed fruit inside a disposable soup bag.
3. In a large soup pot, add blanched pork ribs, watercress, red dates, soup poach and water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer (with lid partially closed) for about 40 minutes.
4. Five minutes before you turn off the stove, add the soaked wolfberries. Season with salt. Discard the soup poach. For best results, keep warm in a thermal pot for a few hours until ready to serve.

Ingredients Used: luo han guo • pork • red date • watercress • wolfberry