Soups
Celery, Water Chestnut, Apple and Carrot Soup
Traditionally used to clear heat, moisten dryness and support healthy blood pressure
Why people make this soup
Eating out, Bro Niu kept noticing how salty the dishes and soups were — and over-salty food does no one any favours, least of all young children, who can grow up with a taste for salt and a higher risk of conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease later on. His advice for families: season home soups lightly so children get used to a milder palate and can taste the natural sweetness of the ingredients. This celery, water chestnut, apple and carrot soup is traditionally used to clear heat, ease irritability, moisten dryness and support healthy blood pressure — particularly for the “liver-yang rising” picture with dizziness, irritability, a bitter or dry mouth, dark scanty urine or constipation.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Also well suited to people with high blood lipids or high cholesterol who want a light, clearing soup.
- Those with a cold, weak spleen and stomach should use it cautiously — add a few slices of ginger and some dried figs to temper the cooling nature.
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Celery (xi qin): a classic vegetable traditionally associated with supporting healthy blood pressure.
- Water chestnut (ma ti): cooling and clearing, traditionally used to clear heat and moisten.
- Apple (ping guo): sweet and moistening, it softens the soup’s edge and adds natural sweetness.
- Carrot (gan sun): sweet and nourishing, it rounds out the broth and supports the spleen and stomach.
Ingredients (4–5 bowls)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Celery | ~113 g (3 liang) | cut into sections |
| Water chestnuts | 6 | peeled, sliced |
| Apple | 2 | cored, sliced |
| Carrot | 2 | peeled, sliced |
Method
- Peel the water chestnuts and carrot and slice. Rinse the apples, slice and core. Rinse the celery and cut into sections.
- Put everything into the pot with about 8 bowls of water.
- Simmer about 1 hour down to 4–5 bowls. Eat the soup and the ingredients together.
Bro Niu’s tips
This soup also suits people with high blood lipids or cholesterol. But those with a cold, weak spleen and stomach should use it cautiously.
Community questions answered (selected)
- Q (Lin Tai /林太): Do I have to add lean pork? And can I use apple instead of pear (I don’t like pear)? Bro Niu: Add pork or not, as you like. You can use apple in place of pear; Fengshui pear and crystal pear also taste good in it.
- Q (Tang Tang /糖糖): If I have a bland mouth and loose stools but also high blood pressure and high blood lipids, how should I adjust this soup? Bro Niu: Leave out the celery and add a beetroot (red beet) — that’s good for a bland mouth, high blood pressure and high blood lipids.
- Q (Yan Yan /燕燕): When making soup, should apple and pear be peeled and cored? And isn’t the skin and core nutritious? Bro Niu: If you scrub the fruit clean with fine salt, you can simmer it skin-on; but pear cores have a mild toxicity, so always remove them.
Published September 25, 2010 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.
