Cantonese love soups. There are soups for every weather condition, every season and every occasion. There are soups to warm your body or to cool your temper. The key to a good soup is to balance all the ingredients for maximum nurturing effect. Snow fungus with goji and chicken is one of these well-balanced soups that can rejuvenate your mind and soul.

Snow fungus, also known as the silver fungus or white fungus, is sometimes recognized as the champion of all fungi.  Historically it was used by the royals and rich families as a remedy to boost their health, with supposedly nurturing effects for internal organs, skin and brain, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour effects.

Goji berries as a herbal remedy were documented in various ancient Chinese medicine compendiums dated as early as the 1500s. Today, it is a common Chinese ingredient with supposedly positive effects on the liver, kidney, sore back, joints, tiredness and poor eyesight. Families use it frequently in soups and teas.

Sounds like magic doesn’t it. The soup is warm, gentle and comforting. Hope you will like it.

My cooking method is as follows:

Ingredients

• 2-3 pieces of chicken thigh, approx. 250g, roughly sliced
• 1 flower of snow fungus
• 1 tbsp. goji berries
• 3 Chinese red dates, pits removed
• salt to taste

Method

• Soak snow fungus in warm water for 10 minutes; remove the stem and break up into small pieces
• In a saucepan, place all ingredients and add hot water; bring it to boil; then simmer (with a lid on) on the lowest heat for about 1 hours
• Before serving, add salt to taste.