Coconut and Lotus Seeds in Chicken Soup

Soup Name: Coconut and Lotus Seeds in Chicken Soup

Traditional Chinese Name: 椰子蓮子雞湯 (yē zi lián zi jī tāng)

Introduction:

A mildly sweet and smooth chicken soup that is refreshing and easy to drink. I love eating the coconuts threads and the kids love it too.

What Ingredients are required?

1 chicken (whole)

20 dried lotus seeds

1 coconut

water

salt to taste

How do I prepare it?

1. Start boiling your soup water


2. Rinse lotus seeds in warm water


3. 
   
   Prepare the chicken (see chicken for preparation steps)
   
   


4. 
   
   In a separate pot, boil water to blanch the chicken
   
   


5. 
   
   Pre-boil chicken, strain and add chicken to the boiling water of your soup
   
   


6. 
   
   Open coconut and slice into thin strips (keeping the skin is optional, but it’s quite a bit of work to remove the skin)
   
   


7. Add lotus seeds and coconut to the soup
   
   


8. 
   
   Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce to low heat for another 2.5 hours
   
   


9. Serve and enjoy!


10. As this is a minimalist soup, some may prefer to add a bit of salt (my recommendation - in moderation)
    
    

Any benefits?

• 
  
  This soup is rich in proteins and helps nourish the lungs
  
  


• The soup is low in fat (remember to remove all the oil on the surface of the soup) and sodium

Any precautions?

• 
  
  Try not to eat too much coconut. The meat is high in saturated fats and eating too much may give you a tummy ache because it’s relatively hard to digest, although it’s great for constipation!