Chicken soup with red dates and goji berries (紅棗杞子雞湯)
A simple, gently sweet chicken soup with red dates, goji berries and ginger — an everyday confinement soup that needs no special herbs.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 40 min
- Serves
- 4
Method
- 1
Blanch the chicken. Put it in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse.
- 2
Boil. Bring the water to the boil in a pot. Add the chicken, ginger, red dates and longan and boil for 10 minutes.
- 3
Simmer. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 1½ hours.
- 4
Add the goji berries for the last 10 minutes — any longer and they turn mushy and sour.
- 5
Skim and season. Skim off any fat, add salt to taste and serve.
About this dish
Red dates, goji berries and longan turn up in Cantonese soups all year round, and are traditionally thought of as nourishing the blood (補血) — a cultural belief rather than a medical one. This soup uses only everyday ingredients from any Chinese supermarket.
Tips
- Take the skin off the chicken for a clearer, less fatty soup.
- Pit the red dates. The stones are traditionally thought to be "heating" (燥), so families usually remove them.
- Leftovers: divide into smaller containers so they cool quickly, get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours, eat within 48 hours, and reheat once, until steaming hot.
Sources
About these recipes
- These are traditional home recipes, shared for cultural interest. They are not medical or nutritional advice, and we don’t claim any dish treats, prevents or cures anything.
- If you have allergies, gestational diabetes or a special diet, or take any medicines or herbal remedies, check with your midwife, health visitor, GP or pharmacist before changing what you eat.
- Follow UK food-safety advice: cook meat, fish and eggs thoroughly; cool leftovers and get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours; eat them within 2 days; and reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- Some recipes contain alcohol, and cooking doesn’t remove all of it. If you’re breastfeeding, read our guide to ginger vinegar and chicken in rice wine first.
Experienced carers cook dishes like these every day of the confinement month, and adjust them to how you’re feeling.
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