Purpose:
To lubricate lungs and nourish yin. To increase body fluids (saliva, tears, etc.) and retain essence.
Material:
Chicken eggs 6
Rock sugar (冰糖） 250 g (or more to taste)
Xueer (雪耳） 20 g
Lianzi （莲子） 100 g
Baihe （百合） 50 g
Note:
Chicken eggs from cage-free chickens are recommended. They are better not only because they taste better, but also there are reasons based on the yin-yang balance theory of traditional Chinese medicine (details later). Rock sugar, Xueer, Lianzi, and Baihe are common items in traditional Chinese cooking, so they are available in most Chinese grocery stores (see pictures below). Lianzi can be obtained with or without the green sprout inside (莲心）. For this soup, lianzi without the sprout should be used. Refer to the footnote in one of my previous post for explanation of yin, yang, and essence if you are not familiar with them.
Procedure:
a. Soak xueer, lianzi and baihe separately for about 20 minutes. Clean each one. Remove the stem from xueer and tear it into small pieces.
b. Boil the eggs：start cooking eggs with cold water. Bring to boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove eggs, and rinse with cold water. Peel the eggs.
c. Heat about 3 liters of water in one pot to boil. Put in all the prepared material except rock sugar. Use medium heat to boil for 90 minutes, then simmer at low heat for another 90 minutes. Add rock sugar one hour before the end of cooking.
d. Ready to serve.
Comment:
The level of water for the soup should be checked from time to time during cooking. Add more water when needed, since evaporation could reduce the amount of water. This is a sweet soup. It can be kept in the refrigerator as a snack soup. One egg and a small bowl of soup makes one serving. Microwave to warm up the soup before eating. Lungs in traditional Chinese medicine implies not just the organ, but also the respiratory system.
Rock Sugar
(冰糖）
Left: polycrystals Right: single crystals
Xueer
（ 雪耳）
Lianzi
(莲子）
Baihe
（百合）
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