Fresh Lotus Seed, Lily Bulb and Ophiopogon Soup

Why people make this soup

Midsummer brings an abundance of fresh lotus seeds to the markets — plump, green, and fragrant. Traditional Cantonese cooks consider this a seasonal reminder to make this soothing soup. Unlike dried lotus seeds, fresh ones have a clean, delicate flavour and a creamy texture, and they include the small, intensely bitter green core (the embryo), which is the part traditionally valued for its cooling, heart-calming properties.

This is a go-to remedy for anyone feeling restless in the heat of summer — or for parents whose children are unsettled, irritable, and sleeping poorly after illness. The combination of lotus seed core, lily bulb, and ophiopogon root is one of those classic, time-tested formulas that people in the Cantonese tradition reach for when the body is “over-heated inside” — a pattern that might manifest as a dry mouth, night sweating, difficulty settling down, or lingering discomfort after a fever. It is a simple soup, quick to make, and genuinely calming.