Winter melon, Job's tears and lotus leaf soup with pork ribs

Method

1. Soak and rinse the Job's tears and hyacinth beans; deseed the winter melon and cut it into large pieces with the skin left on; rinse the lotus leaf.
2. Blanch the pork ribs (飛水, a quick boil) to draw out the blood and scum.
3. Bring 2.5 litres of water to the boil over high heat, then add all the ingredients.
4. Once it returns to the boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours.
5. Season with salt; the winter melon flesh can be lifted out and eaten with the meal.

Simmered all day, with plenty in the pot.今日呢煲 · Today’s pot

Who it suits

• summer heat
• fluid retention and puffiness

Who should take care

• Pregnant women should avoid Job's tears (it is slippery and draining)
• Those with a cold constitution or a cold stomach should drink only a little
• People with gout or high uric acid should drink only a little, long-boiled meat soups are high in purines (general warning across this collection)

Soup stories

Boiling the winter melon with its skin on is traditionally held to clear heat and move water better. As always, the melon flesh is lifted out afterwards and served as a dish in its own right.

From the same family

Five-finger fig root (hairy fig) and carrot soup with pork ribsBlack-eyed pea and tangerine peel soup with common carpHairy gourd, black-eyed pea and peanut soup with chicken feet

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.