Soups
Dried Ginger, Poria, Atractylodes and Licorice Soup
Traditionally warms the spleen and dispels cold-damp
Why people make this soup
After Lunar New Year the weather can stay cold, and Bro Niu reminds older readers — especially those with rheumatic aches, wear-and-tear joints, or a tired lower back — to keep warm and out of cold wind. This warming brew is a traditional way to support the spleen and dispel cold and damp.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Best suited to people with a heavy, achy lower back and body, slight puffiness in the limbs, and a cold-damp pattern settling in the lower body; traditionally aimed at spleen-weakness with dampness.
- This is a warm, drying brew — if you tend to feel dry, hot or thirsty, it may not suit you (one reader felt a bit “heaty” after drinking it).
- For ongoing or unexplained joint problems, please see a doctor.
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Dried ginger (gan jiang): Strongly warming; traditionally used to drive out internal cold.
- Poria (fu ling): Traditionally associated with draining damp and supporting the spleen.
- Atractylodes (bai zhu): Traditionally used to strengthen the spleen and dry damp.
- Licorice (gan cao): Harmonizes the other herbs.
Ingredients (1 small bowl)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Licorice (gan cao) | ~8 g | |
| Dried ginger (gan jiang) | ~15 g | From a Chinese herb shop |
| Poria (fu ling) | ~23 g | |
| Atractylodes (bai zhu) | ~19 g |
Method
- Rinse all the ingredients.
- Cook in 4 bowls of water down to a generous half-bowl.
- Drink warm.
Bro Niu’s tips
This brew targets aches mainly from the lower back down, and best suits a spleen-weak, damp constitution. If the rheumatic pattern comes with liver-blood insufficiency — cold, achy joints, numbness, worse at night, with dizziness or blurred vision — you may add codonopsis (dang shen) and astragalus (bei qi) ~11 g each and prepared rehmannia (shu di) ~19 g.
Community questions answered (selected)
-
Q (Lee): What soup is good for rheumatoid arthritis? Bro Niu: You can make more use of astragalus (bei qi) and cinnamon twig (gui zhi) ~11 g each, with adzuki beans (chi xiao dou) and Job’s tears (yi mi) ~38 g each, cooked into a lean-pork or silkie-chicken soup.
-
Q (jojo): Is “dried ginger” (gan jiang) just ginger dried out, or a herb-shop item? Bro Niu: Dried ginger is sold at Chinese herb shops; it mainly addresses internal-cold patterns.
Published January 31, 2012 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.
