Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe: Ba Zhen or 8 Treasures Decoction (八珍汤)

*This soup is specially for ladies only! 


Born in a Chinese family, my parents have always been strong advocates of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Especially Mum. I love ALL her soups she has prepared for us since young. It's always so full of flavor and so yum. I hope to be able to cook yummy soups for my kids too in the future! Hahaha...but that's too far ahead! >_<

Anyways, this Chinese herbal soup called Ba Zhen is actually my least favorite soup of all times! It's always super bitter and I can fall sick if I get too "heaty"after drinking it (this soup is very "heaty", so make sure you drink loads of water!). But as I grow up, I begin to understand why it is important to make sure we have nutritious soups regularly so we can stay healthy and strong. So a bit of bitterness it's worth it in the long run. :D

Ba Zhen Soup is very nutritious and has a lot of health benefits for women. Yes, it's only for women! Haha! My boyfriend asked me why boil a soup he can't drink! Lol! But on a serious note, the reason is because the soup is too "heaty" for guys and it's just right for us especially right after our menses when our body is "weak/cold", hence we are able to tolerate the heatiness and in fact, we need it to make our body strong again. So, ladies, the BEST time to take this soup is right after the monthly menses to nourish the body and help replenish the blood lost during menses.

I've heard many times from friends how awful this soup taste and that's how my parents used to make it for me too. So I agreed with them! It was thick, gooey, bitter and just extremely yuck. Urgh. But!! Due to advance in technology (heh!), these days I can scout for good recipes and advice online!! :D Trust me, this soup is nothing close to bitter....it's extremely yummy! All you have to do is add a bit more water and "sweet" ingredients e.g. chicken, pork, red carrots, red dates, wolfberries, red beans etc...I saw this recipe at Happyhomemaker88 and got inspired to add hard boiled eggs in my soup too! Lovely!

Here's my version:

Ingredients:

1 packet of Ba Zhen/八珍 (bought from Asian store)
4 chicken drumsticks (skin removed)
2 hardboiled eggs (shell removed)
A hand full of red dates (seeds removed. **Tip: Always buy red dates with seed included because red dates sold without the seeds are rumored to be recycled and has milder taste)
A hand full of red beans (because I have no wolfberries at home! >_< But red beans are generally good for blood production! :D)

Step 1: Lightly wash all the herbs under running cold water. Drain and put aside.

Step 2: Add water into a pot and bring to boil (Refer to packaging for the amount of water required. You can add more water later as it boils, if the soup gets too thick)

Step 3: Add herbs, chicken drumsticks, eggs, red dates and red beans into the pot (basically throw everything into the pot. Cannot get any easier than this! Haha). Turn to low heat and let simmer for at least 3 hours. (Make sure to always keep an eye on it, stir it occasionally and add water if needed).

Step 4: Serve in a nice bowl and enjoy the comfort of hot, nutritious soup! :)

Because I'm the only lady at home, I will be drinking it for the next few days! Hehehe!

SO YUM! :D

That's all, ladies! So simple and it's so good for you!
 

Take care always! :D