Prince Ginseng, White Hyacinth Bean and Pearl Barley Soup

Why people make this soup

Every year as early summer arrives, hand, foot and mouth disease picks up again among young children. The illness — mainly caused by enteroviruses — typically affects children between two and five years old, bringing fever, runny nose, poor appetite, mouth sores, and sometimes a rash on the hands, feet and around the nails. Parents who want to do something supportive at the kitchen level often turn to a gentle nourishing soup. This recipe uses three mild ingredients that together support the spleen and stomach — the digestive foundation in Chinese food-therapy thinking — without being too rich or too warming for a child whose system is already under stress.