Fresh Dendrobium, Goji Berry and Clam Soup

Why people make this soup

At a Chinese herbal market you can sometimes spot thick, fresh dendrobium stalks selling at surprisingly reasonable prices. The real test of quality is texture: when you chew a piece, it should feel sticky and mucilaginous in your mouth. That slight chewiness signals the polysaccharides and alkaloids that traditional food therapy prizes so highly. Paired with sweet-tasting goji berries, carrot, and delicately flavoured freshwater clams, this soup is both genuinely tasty and thought to be particularly suitable for anyone who tends toward dryness — parched throat after late nights, gradual changes in eyesight, or people managing blood sugar concerns.