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Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. Pig stomach soup is rich in gelatine and glutamine that are important components for leaky gut healing.
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Adrenal Support Chinese Herbs and Pig Stomach Soup

Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. 
Course Soup
Cuisine Chinese
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 320kcal
Author Yang

Ingredients

Herbs

  • 4-5 large slices poria
  • 8-9 pieces Chinese wild yam
  • 1/4 cup white lotus seeds (roughly 25 to 30 seeds)
  • 3 tbsp euryale seeds

or

  • 1 Stress Less Herbal Mix by Root + Spring (see notes for where to buy)

Ingredients for Cleaning Pig Stomach

Soup Ingredients

  • 2 pig stomaches, approx. 2-3 lb. (see notes for substitutes)
  • 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  • 1/3 cup cooking rice wine (or to taste, optional - see additional notes below)
  • 8 cups filtered water

Instructions

Preparing the Pig Stomach

  • Use a pair of scissors to trim away the extra fats attached to the pig stomach both inside and outside.
  • Scrub the pig stomaches with salt crystals a few times, rinse, and then wash with vinegar. This process can be repeated for as many times as you need, until the water runs relatively clear. You should have washed away a lot of the slimes by now and removed some of the smell. It's ok to still have some slime that couldn't get washed off completely. 
    Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. Pig stomach soup is rich in gelatine and glutamine that are important components for leaky gut healing.
  • Boil the pig stomaches in a pot of water with sliced ginger for about 5 to 10 minutes. Ginger further helps to remove the smell. Throw away the ginger and water.
    Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. Pig stomach soup is rich in gelatine and glutamine that are important components for leaky gut healing.
  • Wash the pig stomaches in running water. At this point, I usually take a small knife that isn't sharp to scrape off the layer of film on the surface of the pig stomach. Rinse a few more times. Now there should be no more slimes or smells.
  • If necessary, use a pair of scissors to help cut the stomach open. Cut the whole pig stomaches into thin slices. (See notes for alternative method.)
    Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. Pig stomach soup is rich in gelatine and glutamine that are important components for leaky gut healing.

Making the Soup

  • Rinse the herbs briefly under the running water.
  • Place all the pig stomach, herbs, 8 cups of filtered water, salt (approx. 1 tsp or to taste) in a soup pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hour 45 minutes until the pig stomaches are tender. 
    Chinese medicinal soup formula (Si Shen Tang, 四神汤) consisting of poria, Chinese wild yam, white lotus seeds, and euryale seeds makes one of the classic soup remedies served on the dinner table in many Chinese families and sold by street food vendors. This rendition focuses on easing anxiety and stress by supporting the adrenal glands, as well as resolving stress-induced digestive dysfunctions by supporting the digestive system. Pig stomach was used in this soup recipe to honour the original formula. Like other organ meats, pig stomachs are nutritious and have long been used for medicinal purpose in cooking in the East. Pig stomach soup is rich in gelatine and glutamine that are important components for leaky gut healing.
  • Add the cooking rice wine or sake. It's a common practice to add rice wine to enhance flavours of herbal soups. Have a taste, adjust the water level and saltiness if needed at this point. (See additional notes below.)
  • Simmer the soup for another 15 minutes. This ensures the elimination of the alcohol. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  1. You can get a pre-packaged herb mix for this soup remedy from Root + Spring.
  2. Substitute pig stomaches with equal amount (2-3 lb.) of pig intestines or pork ribs, or use 1 pig stomach and half portion (1-1.5 lb.) of pork ribs combined. If using pig intestines, follow the same cleaning steps above. If using pork ribs, soak, blanch and rinse the pork ribs before simmering with the herbs, like how I prep the oxtails in this oxtail soup recipe.
  3. If you are planning to use the pig stomach in a separate dish, you may boil the pig stomaches whole first with rest of the soup ingredients and remove the pig stomaches when the soup is done, then cut the pig stomaches into desired size. Note that it's easier to cut the cooked pig stomaches than uncooked ones. Even if you use the pig stomaches for another dish, a lot of the nutrients and gelatines are already cooked into the broth.
  4. Most Asian cooking rice wine and sake contain salt. Depending on the salt content of the particular cooking rice wine you use, you may need to adjust the amount of salt added to the soup.
  5. It's a common practice to add cooking rice wine or sake in herbal soups to enhance flavour. From Chinese medicine's perspective, wine improves circulation. You may skip the rice wine if forbidden by your diet. Note that cooking the soup for a period of time after the rice wine is added will ensure the alcohol dissipate, but the aroma and flavour still remain in the soup.
  6. The calorie calculation is based on 1 serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal