Chinese yam and pork rib soup (淮山排骨汤)
huai shan pai gu tang (淮山排骨汤)
A gentle confinement soup: pork ribs simmered with Chinese yam, red dates and goji into a mild, strengthening broth, kind to digestion from the early weeks.
Not every confinement soup is a strong herbal tonic. Some of the most useful are the plainest, and this pork rib and Chinese yam soup is a mild, everyday pot that strengthens quietly and suits the month from very early on.
Why this soup
Its value is its gentleness. Chinese yam is one of the few tonics the tradition trusts in the delicate first weeks, prized for supporting the spleen and digestion without the heat of the stronger herbs. Paired with blood-nourishing red dates and a scatter of goji, it makes a soup that is nourishing but never heavy, the everyday counterpart to the richer black chicken herbal soup.
A clean, simple broth
The only step that matters is blanching the ribs first, a quick boil and rinse that clears away the scum and gives a clean, clear broth. After that it looks after itself over an hour or so of gentle simmering. For where the gentle early days sit in the month, see how the 30 days are structured, and browse the other soups and recipes for the fuller tonics later on.
The recipe
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Total
- 1 hr 25 min
- Serves
- 3 to 4 as part of a meal
Why this ingredient
Chinese yam (淮山)
Dried Chinese yam is prized in the tradition for strengthening the spleen, the seat of digestion, and it does so gently enough to suit the earliest weeks. It softens into the broth with a mild, starchy sweetness, making a nourishing soup that asks little of a recovering appetite.
Why this ingredient
Red dates (红枣)
Red dates run through the confinement kitchen as a sweet, blood-nourishing addition, and here they soften the soup and lend a gentle warmth, the everyday partner to the milder tonics.
Ingredients
- 500 g pork ribs, chopped into pieces Blanched first for a clean broth. Pork bones or a small hand of pork also work.
- 30 g dried Chinese yam (huai shan) slices, rinsed The gentle spleen tonic at the heart of the soup; softens and lightly thickens the broth.
- 8 red dates (jujubes), pitted For blood-nourishing sweetness.
- 1 tablespoon goji berries Added near the end so they stay whole.
- 4 slices old ginger For warmth and to settle the pork.
- 1.8 litres water, and salt to taste
Method
- 1 Blanch the ribs in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain and rinse. This removes scum and keeps the broth clear.
- 2 Put the ribs, Chinese yam, red dates and ginger in a pot with the water.
- 3 Bring to the boil, skim, then lower to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes until the ribs are tender and the broth is fragrant.
- 4 Add the goji berries and salt in the last few minutes, and serve hot.
Notes and substitutions
- A handful of dang shen or a little astragalus turns this into a stronger tonic for the later weeks.
- Sweetcorn, carrot or a few peanuts add body and natural sweetness.
- It reheats well and keeps for two days; a good soup to make ahead.
Before you cook this
- A gentle, everyday soup with no special cautions. Season lightly, as a recovering body does well on less salt.
Sources
- The Zuo Yuezi Guide
- Zuo Yuezi: An American Mother's Guide to Chinese Postpartum Recovery (Guang Ming Whitley)
Common questions
Can I use fresh yam instead of dried?
Dried Chinese yam (huai shan) is the traditional choice here and gives the characteristic mild, starchy note. Fresh Chinese yam works too and cooks faster; add it in the last 20 minutes so it does not fall apart.
Is this soup suitable early in the month?
Yes. Unlike the stronger herbal soups, this one is deliberately gentle, so it suits the delicate first weeks when digestion is still settling. It supports rather than taxes a recovering system.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Yes. Leave out the ribs and build the broth on the yam, red dates, goji and a few slices of ginger, perhaps with some corn or carrot for body. It becomes lighter but still gently nourishing.