3 Chinese Peanut Soup Recipes

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3 Chinese peanut soup recipes: a blood tonic, a hair tonic and a pig's trotters soup.

Peanuts or groundnuts have been used by the Chinese in dietary remedies for women's health issues for many years. Peanuts are considered a neutral and gentle chinese herb in traditional chinese medicine. It is good for the lungs and clears phlegm, it is good for the blood, and it helps with fluid retention and swelling.


I don't know how much of this is true but it is supposed to help develop the breasts in teenagers and increase breast milk production in nursing mothers.

1. Blood tonic

A suitable dietary supplement for people suffering from anaemia or low platelet count.

Ingredients

  • 15g raw peanuts with skin still on
  • 25g red dates
  • 10g dried longan
  • 1 litre water

Directions

  1. Bring everything to a boil and lower heat to simmer for 1 hour
  2. Drink it twice a day

2. Hair tonic

Peanuts is also paired with he shou wu in hair remedies. A female relative of mine swears by it and her husband's hair is indeed quite black and healthy for his age.

Ingredients

  • 50g raw peanuts, skins removed
  • 50g black sesame seeds
  • 20g 何首乌 (he shou wu)
  • 500ml water
  • Salt

Directions

  1. Bring everything to a boil
  2. Simmer and stir to thick soup consistency

The recommended way of preparing peanuts is to slowly simmer in liquid. Simmered peanuts are soft and easy to digest. Suitable for both the elderly and children. If fried or roasted, the fats in peanuts changes the neutrality to yang and can produce heatiness. Using high heat also destroy vitamin E and other minerals.

My grandmother always have a small packet of raw peanuts in the refrigerator which she would add to pork soups and simmer them till they are soft and melt-in-the-mouth. Regardless its medicinal impact, I just thought they are yummy.

3. Pig trotter soup with peanuts

Pig trotter and peanuts soup is reputed as a breast development recipe. It is also commonly consumed by pregnant ladies to fortify their bodies and to encourage lactation.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg pig trotters
  • 1 cup peanuts
  • 3 pieces ginger
  • 2.6 litre water
  • 1 tbsp cooking wine
  • Salt

Directions

  1. Soak the peanuts for 2 hours
  2. Clean the pork trotter, parboil for 10 minutes
  3. Place the trotter, peanuts and ginger into a pot, add the water and bring to a boil
  4. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours until the trotter fall off the bones
  5. Add salt and cooking wine
  6. Cook for another 2 minutes
  7. Serve

Happy Souping, Phoebe