Recommended by: Clinical Nutrition Department, Guangdong Provincial Hospital
Primary Effects: Warms the middle burner and promotes digestion
Recommended Reason: A warming Laba soup for the coldest days
Ingredients: 3 cloves black garlic, 1 skinless chicken thigh, 25g lean pork, 2 slices ham, 1 piece dried tangerine peel (serves 1-2).
Preparation Method:
Rinse chicken thigh, cut into chunks, and blanch. Rinse lean pork, cut into chunks, and blanch. Slice ham thinly; rinse briefly to reduce saltiness. Place all ingredients in a double boiler, fill with water to 90% capacity, and simmer gently for about 1 hour. Season with a small amount of salt.
Soup Notes:
Black garlic is produced by processing fresh garlic, transforming its cloves from white to deep brown or black. Its texture changes from crisp to soft and sticky, losing the pungent sharpness and odor of raw garlic while reducing gastrointestinal irritation. These transformations make black garlic more palatable, and its flavor in soups is widely accepted.
Black garlic retains the nutritional components of raw garlic while increasing the levels and activity of functional compounds like polyphenols, oligosaccharides, and SOD. It is believed to possess antioxidant properties and help regulate immunity, blood lipids, and blood sugar. Garlic polysaccharides degrade at high temperatures, generating fructooligosaccharides that may enhance intestinal regulation. Thus, black garlic is a tasty health food, though dosage should be considered.