Dendrobium and Glehnia Root Soup with Carrot and Preserved Duck Gizzard

Why people make this soup

During periods of respiratory illness or dry weather, a thoughtful cook in a Chinese household will often reach for yin-nourishing ingredients — those that, according to traditional theory, help replenish body fluids, cool internal dryness, and keep the respiratory tract supple. This recipe was originally adapted from a health protection booklet circulated during a respiratory virus outbreak and simplified by Nourilo for home cooking. The medicinal herbs in the base are relatively mild — the slight bitterness of mulberry leaf is softened by liquorice root — and adding carrots and preserved duck gizzard transforms what could feel like a medicine brew into a genuinely flavourful family soup.