Tremella Lily Lotus Seed Soup (Yin Er Bai He Lian Zi Tang, 银耳百合莲子汤) is a traditional Chinese remedy and dessert. It is recommended for nourishing lungs, relieving dryness in autumn, and treating dry cough, lung heat, insomnia and nerves.
White tremella (Yin Er) and Lily bulb (Bai He) both have moisturizing properties. They are often combined together to relieve Yin deficiency (dryness, deficiency of fluids), reduce excessive heat and calm nerves, especially for moisturizing and cleansing lungs and relieving the symptoms of dry cough, coughing up blood, insomnia and restlessness.
Lotus Seed has effects to cleanse excessive heat in heart, and calm nerves. Lotus seed also has drying properties. Adding lotus seeds to the recipe can avoid over-moisturizing.
How to Make Tremella Lily Lotus Seed Soup
Ingredients:
– Dried tremella 10g
– Dried lily bulb 10g
– Dried white lotus seed 20g
– Rock sugar 30g
– Water 2 cups
– You may double the recipe according to the number of servings
Directions:
– Soak tremella in water for 30 minutes, cut or tear it into small pieces, rinse it well, and drain
– Wash lotus seeds and lily bulbs, and drain
– Add 2 cups of water, soak tremella, lotus seeds and lily bulbs in it for at least 2 hours or overnight (do not change the water)
– Put tremella, lotus seeds and lily bulbs with the water into a pot
– Bring to a boil, simmer for 1-2 hours, or until the gum of tremella is well dissolved in the water and the soup is thick
– Add rock sugar, simmer for 1-2 minutes
– The soup is ready to serve
Options:
– You may add ginseng (10g) and astragalus (10g) to the recipe.
– Or you may add chicken (200g) to the recipe and replace rock sugar with salt.
Tremella, lily bulb and lotus seed can be found in a Chinese herbal store or Asian markets.
For more information about autumn remedies, go to Natural Remedies Center: http://www.naturalremediescenter.com/treat/autumn/
