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This snow fungus soup with papaya, jujube fruit and goji berry is a delicious dessert, and a classic Chinese food therapy dish for women to promote healthy radiant skin.

My mother used to make this dessert soup when I was young. It was, and still is, a wildly popular food therapy dish in China. The papaya snow fungus soup is believed for its skincare properties and other health benefits in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Watch the video below for how to make this papaya snow fungus soup.

Papaya Snow Fungus Soup Ingredients

Snow Fungus

Snow fungus (or tremella mushroom) is a prized ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s often called the “fountain of youth” and “king of fungi” in China. Snow fungus is commonly used in Chinese food therapy to strengthen the immune system, boost energy, support brain and heart health, but more notably to nourish the lung, and maintain youthful skin.

Snow fungus has the reputation as an anti-aging food, to boost collagen production, improve skin hydration, calm skin inflammation, maintain flawless complexion, and reduce wrinkles. It also supports women’s health in general. As a lung tonic, snow fungus is very beneficial during the fall and winter seasons.

This wild fungus has a jelly-like texture, but fresh snow fungus cannot be eaten directly. That’s why you typically find them processed or dried when sold in the stores.

Papaya

Papaya is a nutritious fruit with many benefits for the overall health. Particularly, eating papaya is excellent for the skin due to its rich content of vitamins, antioxidants, and enzymes. The high level of antioxidants helps with skin repair and healing. The vitamin C in papaya promotes collagen production, which is essential for maintaining skin elasticity and reducing wrinkles. Eating papaya can also boost immunity and aid digestion.

Jujube Fruit (Red Date)

Jujube fruit (or red date) is another ingredient of the super food status in Chinese cuisine and traditional Chinese medicine. Jujubes are rich in iron and minerals, therefore frequently given to women to replenish blood. It can also increase energy, calm anxiety, improve sleep and digestion, and give a glowy look on the skin. Jujube fruit has a big range of health benefits, making it a popular ingredient in many recipes supporting good health for everyone. Jujubes are naturally sweet, super versatile to be used in sweet and savory soups, desserts, porridges and teas.

The kind of jujubes we stock in the pantry are dehydrated. It’s very rare to find fresh jujubes, besides the dried ones last a really long time. Because jujubes are usually cooked in soups and added into teas, the dried jujubes will soak up the liquid and rehydrate.

Goji Berry

Goji berry should be no stranger to the health-minded folks. In North America, I have seen this super food berry made into juice, tossed in the cereal bowl, pressed into granola bars, baked into breads. Traditionally, goji berries are most often used in healing soups and teas. Goji berries are great for general immune support, and known for strengthening liver and kidney functions and protecting eyesight.

Similar to jujubes, goji berries are also bought and stored in dry form. Rehydrating goji berries is very quick and easy. Goji berries don’t need to be cooked, as consumed in teas. When used in soups, goji berries shouldn’t need to be cooked for a long time either.

Rock Sugar

Rock sugar is a crystallized sugar, shaped as small rocks. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, rock sugar is believed to benefit the lung as a tonic and reduce coughs and phlegm too. Rock sugar are often used in various TCM remedies and recipes.

When buying rock sugar in Asian grocery stores, look for the yellow rock sugar that are irregularly shaped. When sugar cane juice evaporates, rock like sugar clumps will naturally form in random shapes. Some rock sugar products have a regular rectangular shape, that’s a feature of being crystallized in a controlled environment during the manufacturing process. You will also see white rock sugar sold in stores, they are more refined and processed. Yellow rock sugar, because it’s unrefined, preserves more of the natural sugar cane flavour, colour and nutrients.

What if you don’t have rock sugar? You can replace rock sugar with another healthy natural sweetener, such as honey or organic cane sugar.

Snow Fungus Soup Variations

For the simplest version of the snow fungus soup, you can make it with snow fungus, jujubes, goji berries and rock sugar, without the papaya.

For slightly different purposes, you can make the snow fungus soup with other ingredients, such as Asian pear or pumpkin instead of the papaya.

The essence of Chinese food therapy is to use food to restore balance and heal according to the needs of the individuals. For example, because papaya is a well-known fruit to enhance beauty, the papaya and snow fungus pairing maximizes skincare benefits. On the other hand, Asian pear nourishes the lung. Therefore, when you make snow fungus soup with Asian pear, you can use it as a tonic to moisten the lung and calm the cough.

I have another similar soup recipe in my Vegan Chinese Cookbook, using snow fungus, pumpkin, lotus seeds, jujubes, goji berries and rock sugar. That’s a more filling soup with the emphasis on strengthening the digestive system and calming the mind, while being perfect for the fall using seasonal ingredients.

Snow Fungus Storage

Dehydrated snow fungus has a long shelf-life, as long as you keep them in a cool dry spot without contamination. However, it is best to consume them within a year for optimal nutritional value and quality.

Once rehydrated, the snow fungus should be used as soon as possible. If you must store rehydrated snow fungus in the fridge, you should keep them out of the water in an airtight container and use within 3 days.

How to Eat The Papaya Snow Fungus Soup

You can eat this dessert soup hot or cold, depending on your personal preference. You can even add a drizzle of milk or cream of your choice to make it a creamy dessert. The addition of milk or cream is completely optional; the papaya snow fungus soup is more often served without them. When the milk is added, people usually use regular cow milk. Personally, I like to add just a little bit of full fat coconut milk.

Related: More Chinese Food Therapy Dishes You Will Love