Peach Gum Silver Ear Soup 桃胶银耳汤

The prettiest soup in this book, and it knows it. Peach gum is the amber resin of the peach tree, soaked overnight until it turns to little jewels, and silver ear melts around it into a broth that is half soup, half jelly. Lotus seeds, lily bulb, red dates and goji fill the bowl. It asks for planning and almost no skill.

Serves 3 to 4.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dried peach gum (桃胶)
• 1 dried silver ear mushroom (银耳, about 1 ounce)
• 1/4 cup dried lotus seeds
• 2 tablespoons dried lily bulb (百合)
• 6 red dates
• 1 small handful of goji berries
• Rock sugar to taste, about 2 tablespoons
• 8 cups water

Steps

1. The night before, soak the peach gum in plenty of cold water, 12 hours or overnight. It swells to many times its size. Pick out any dark bits of bark and rinse well. A few hours before cooking, soak the silver ear, lotus seeds and lily bulb separately.
2. Trim the hard yellow base off the silver ear and tear it into small pieces. Simmer it in the water for 30 to 40 minutes, until the broth starts to turn silky.
3. Add the lotus seeds and lily bulb and simmer 20 minutes more.
4. Add the peach gum and red dates and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until the peach gum is soft and jelly like. Do not let it go much longer or it melts away into the pot.
5. Stir in the rock sugar and goji berries in the last 5 minutes. Serve warm, or chilled as a dessert soup. It keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Notes

With vegan bird's nest (雪燕, snow swallow): soak 1 tablespoon overnight like the peach gum, add it in the last 10 minutes only, and finish the bowl with a splash of plant milk. This is the version to make when the soup is the whole point of the evening.