Si Shen Tang, Liu Wei Tang (四神汤, 六味汤)

In this blog, I shall also cover some nice and easy to cook herbal soups that are useful in building up our health over time or even just after recovery of illness.We will look at how we can prepare these easy and delicious herbal dishes for everyone. Don't think that traditional Chinese Medicine is just some bitter medical prescription. It can smell nice and at the same time delicious. It is also easy to prepare. In additional, as all the ingredients are herbal, there is no major side-effect in taking them for long terms. However please be noted that there are indeed some herbal medication that are NOT recommended for long term consumption. I will remind you about that as we go along.

In today's post, we shall take a look at the 2 herbal soups that are easy to prepare and good for the spleen. These 2 herbal soups are also especially GOOD for recovery after illness. It is very easy to prepare and it tastes great.


The first herbal soup that I am covering is the Si Shen Tang (四神汤). The ingredients are Xiang Lian (湘莲 ), Qian Shi (欠实), Huai Shan (淮山), Fu Ling (茯苓).

First, wash 2 items, Xiang Lian and Qian Shi, in hot water. This is to remove a bit of the outside 'skin' of the medicine so that the soup will not look too 'red' later. Do not remove all of the skin, as that is the part that is aiding in strengthening the spleen.

Next, rinse the remaining 2 items and put all items in the pot and boil. After boiling, bring it to small fire and let it cook for at least 1 hour. At this point you can put in our choice of meat. It tastes great with duck. However, we will not recommend you cook the soup with duck if you have a weaker stomach or is currently ill. The reason being, duck is more oily, so it is not recommended to consume too oily food when you have a weak stomach or when you are sick. Salt can be added to taste.

This soup is suitable for everyone from young to the elderly. Just take note for the young and elderly, use lean meat. Or the other way to enjoy this soup is to boil the soup without meat and cook with other stuff such as mee suan, porridge or mixed with your oat meal.

This soup is also great for babies.


The next soup that I am recommending is Liu Wei Tang (六味汤). The ingredients used is quite similar to Si Shen Tang (四神汤). The ingredients are Xiang Lian (湘莲), Qian Shi (欠实), Huai Shan (淮山), Yu Zhu (玉竹), Bai He (百合), Dried Longan (龙眼肉).

This soup helps in improving digestion, improves appetite and also nourish the lungs. The way of cooking is similar to Si Shen Tang (四神汤).

First, wash the 2 items, Xiang Lian and Qian Shi, in hot water. This is to remove a bit of the outside 'skin' of the medicine so that the soup will not look too 'red' later. Do not remove all of the skin, as that is the part that is aiding in strengthening the spleen.

Next, rinse the remaining 4 items and put all items in the pot and boil. After boiling, bring it to small fire and let it cook for at least 1 hour. At this point you can put in our choice of meat. Salt can be added to taste.

For this soup, you can also cook it as a dessert. To have it as a dessert, do not add meat and salt. Instead, after cooking for 1 hour, add rock sugar to taste. Fore those who do not like to eat the ingredients, you can just drink the soup alone. It is very refreshing when chilled. It can also be served as a form of refreshing tea too.

This soup is also suitable for everyone from babies to the young to the elderly.