Almond Pork Lung Soup 杏汁豬肺湯

I have always heard about 以形補形 eating what you want to replenish. You hear about Chinese moms making pork brain soup for students studying for exams, pork shank soup to strengthen your legs, and today’s recipe, the Almond pork lung soup, is the remedy when you have a bad cough. People say it is super hard to make, especially since the technique of cleaning the lungs is daunting. Sounds like the perfect challenge for me to conquer this classic soup at home to preserve this traditional recipe.

In this episode, I invited Melo, the founder of Momo Almond Butter, to help me make this soup. Melo started Momo because she couldn't find good almond milk in the market. Western almonds are high in vitamin E, B2, Copper, and Magnesium and are a great source of protein! 

南北杏 is sweet and bitter kernels. They are the pit or kernel of an apricot that is grown on a fruit tree. Which means they are technically considered a fruit. Whereas almonds are from a nut tree. South 南杏 is sweet, and north北杏 is bitter. Bitter kernels have high doses of B17 and should not be eaten raw in large quantities. However, their medicinal value includes soothing Bronchu, reducing constipation, restoring respiratory function, and releasing lung stress. That's why we Chinese believe that this soup is the perfect remedy for anyone suffering from respiratory fatigue and for the elderly who need added nutrients.

I have enlisted Dr. Chan 陳偉明 from 回春堂, a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, to help me understand this soup's nutritional value.  

He mentions that sweet and bitter kernels have different functions. Sweet kernels help to clear flem, while Bitter kernels help clean out the lungs and have more medicinal value. The Kernels have a soothing effect on the Broncus 豬肺營養價值很高，含豐富蛋白質，具有補肺，潤肺健脾補氣之功。 Lungs are highly nutritious and a good source of Protein, helping to clean out the lung and restore its function, soothe the lung, and improve respiratory health.

He also said that Westerners will eat placenta after birth to replenish nutrients lost during birth. This is not a new concept of eating what you want to replenish.

From a Western point of view, pork lung is very rich in vitamin B12, Selenium, and Antioxidants, which promote brain health and cell rejuvenation. However, from a nutritionist's point of view, organs and nuts are considered high in fat and cholesterol. If you are on a diet or at risk for diabetes or high blood pressure, it was recommended to stay away from Organ soups or any long-processed soup.

To do my research, we have tasted different versions of this soup from reputable Chinese restaurants. Luk Yu, Asiana Chinese Restaurant and Sang Kee and scroll through all the online recipes. They all make their version with slight variations of ingredients, but it's more or less the same technique. It is now my turn to make it my way. I have used the recipe from Dr. Chan 陳偉明, and he gave me lots of pointers to make this soup.

Ingredients:

1 pork lung completely washed / 2 lb of pork shank

1.5 lb pork shank

100g Yuen nan Ham

2 snow fungus, about 40g

75g Sweet kernels (Soak for 1 hr)

20g Bitter kernels (Soak for 1 hr)

1-2 Dried aged orange peel, 8g (soaked)

2 slices of Ginger

4 L of water

Preparation of the lung:

Putting the faucet directly into the pipe of the lung and running water through the lung

Using a fork, poke some holes and press excess water from the lungs

Repeat a few times until the lung is white and translucent in color

Remove the pipe and cut it into 3 inches chunks

In a hot, dry wok, pan-roast the lung to remove all excess water

remove the water and repeat until the lung is dry

Add boiling water to the wok and cook the lung for 30 minutes. The soup will start to turn cloudy

Making soup:

Pour all the soup and lung into a heavy pot.

Except for South and North Kernals, place all ingredients in the pot and continue to boil for 1 hr in Medium heat.

Place soaked kernels in a blender along with 1.5 cups of water and blend until smooth

Put Kernal paste in a cheesecloth bag along with extra liquid into the soup

Cook for an additional 30 minutes on medium-low heat.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt to taste,

sprinkle a few kernels inside the soup for garnish, and serve the broth hot

Serve the lung and remaining ingredients separately and dip in soy sauce to taste.