INGREDIENT GUIDE
What each ingredient is, how it tastes, how to prepare it, and which of our soups and teas use it. Names are given in English, Chinese, Cantonese (Jyutping) and Mandarin (pinyin), so you can find them in any shop.
蓮子
The dried seeds of the lotus plant. Creamy and mildly sweet once cooked, they soften without falling apart over a long simmer.
淮山
Sliced and dried Chinese yam root. Chalky white and starchy, it gives soups a soft body and a gentle sweetness.
芡實
Seeds of the prickly water lily, also called euryale seed or gorgon nut. Firm and slightly chewy, with a clean, nutty taste.
枸杞
Small, bright red dried berries with a sweet, slightly tangy taste. Used in both soups and teas.
Read the full goji berry guide: origin, safety and cooking
Good to know: If you take blood-thinning medication such as warfarin, check with your doctor before eating goji regularly.
薏米
A large, pearly grain also known as coix seed. It is sometimes sold as “Chinese pearl barley”, but it comes from a different plant to barley.
玉竹
The dried, sliced rhizome of Solomon’s seal. Translucent and lightly sweet, it adds a soft background flavour to clear soups and teas.
沙參
Thin, pale dried roots and a standard part of Cantonese soup mixes. Mild and slightly sweet.
龍眼肉
The dried flesh of the longan fruit, also called gwai yuen (桂圓). Dark, sticky and honey-sweet, with a slightly smoky edge.
Read the full dried longan guide: origin, safety and cooking
百合
Dried scales of the edible lily bulb. Ivory coloured, with a soft texture and a faint, pleasant bitterness.
雪耳
Also called white fungus or silver ear. A frilly, pale fungus that turns soft and jelly-like when cooked, giving soup a silky texture.
蜜棗
Jujubes candied in syrup until golden. They give Cantonese soups a rounded sweetness, so no extra sugar is needed.
竹蔗
Dried, split lengths of bamboo cane: the slender, green-skinned sugar cane used for Cantonese drinks rather than for chewing.
茅根
The dried roots of cogon grass. Straw coloured and lightly sweet, they are the classic partner to sugar cane in Hong Kong summer drinks.
蟲草花
Golden-orange strands of a cultivated mushroom, Cordyceps militaris, grown on grain. Despite the name it is not wild cordyceps; it is an everyday soup ingredient with a savoury flavour.
花菇
Premium dried shiitake with a cracked, flower-like pattern on the cap, which forms as the mushrooms grow slowly in cold weather. Thick, meaty and deeply savoury.
Read the full dried shiitake guide: origin, safety and cooking
紅棗
Dried jujubes. Chewy and gently sweet, they are one of the most common ingredients in Chinese soups and teas.
Read the full red dates (jujube) guide: origin, safety and cooking
菊花
Dried chrysanthemum flowers. Unopened buds (胎菊, toi guk) brew a sweeter, gentler cup than open flowers.
Good to know: Chrysanthemum is in the daisy family. Avoid it if you are allergic to daisies or ragweed.
當歸
The dried root of Chinese angelica: strongly aromatic, bittersweet, and used in small amounts in warming soups.
Read the full dang gui guide: origin, safety and cooking
Good to know: Don’t use dang gui during pregnancy. If you take blood thinners such as warfarin, check with your doctor first.
黃芪
Long, pale slices of a dried root with a mild, sweet, bean-like taste. A staple of Cantonese cool-weather soup packs.
Read the full astragalus root guide: origin, safety and cooking
Good to know: If you take immunosuppressant medicine or have an autoimmune condition, check with your doctor first.
黨參
A soft, sweet, chewy dried root, widely used in everyday Chinese family soups.
瑤柱
The dried adductor muscle of the scallop: golden, intensely savoury, and a Cantonese luxury ingredient.
Read the full dried scallop guide: origin, safety and cooking
Good to know: Dried scallop is a shellfish. Avoid it if you have a shellfish allergy.
In Cantonese food culture, each ingredient is traditionally described by its nature: cooling (涼), neutral (平) or warming (暖). This guides which soups and teas people choose for the season, with cooling pots for hot, humid weather and warming ones for winter. It describes tradition, not serving temperature, and it is not medical advice.
No. Cordyceps flower (蟲草花) is a cultivated mushroom, Cordyceps militaris, grown on grain. Wild cordyceps (冬蟲夏草) is a different and far more expensive product. Cordyceps flower is an everyday soup ingredient valued for its savoury flavour.
Both are jujubes. Red dates (紅棗) are simply dried, and are chewy and mildly sweet. Honey dates (蜜棗) are candied in syrup until golden, and are used mainly to sweeten Cantonese soups.
Huai shan (淮山) is dried, sliced Chinese yam. It is starchy and mildly sweet, and gives soups a soft, rounded body.
Keep them in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark cupboard. In humid weather, keep goji, longan and dates in the fridge so they stay soft and free of pests.
Apricot kernels (南北杏) are traditional in some Cantonese soups, but the retail sale of raw apricot kernels is prohibited under Australia’s Food Standards Code, so our recipes leave them out.