Aboriginal Taiwanese Wild Herbs Soup

About This Recipe

Among Taiwan's sixteen officially recognized indigenous peoples — the Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan, and others who have inhabited the island's central mountain range and eastern valleys for thousands of years — wild herb soup (sometimes called 'mountain vegetable broth' or, in Amis, 'cafad no riko') occupies a place that goes far beyond ordinary cooking. These communities traditionally harvested mugwort (ai-cao), goji leaf, astragalus root, and other mountain botanicals not simply for flavor but as deliberate medicine: plants chosen for their capacity to strengthen the body against the cold, altitude, and physical demands of highland life. The broth is clear and golden, carrying a pleasantly assertive bitterness that Taiwanese aboriginal cooks consider a sign of quality — 'if it doesn't taste slightly bitter, you haven't cooked it long enough' is a common saying. Pork or chicken is blanched first to remove impurities, then slow-simmered with the herb bundle so that every drop of the broth absorbs the botanicals' essence. The technique is deliberately unhurried. A proper wild herbs soup builds flavor over thirty to forty minutes of gentle simmering at a low rolling boil — around 90–95°C — rather than a furious boil that would cloud the broth and destroy delicate aromatic compounds. Root vegetables (carrots, turnip) are added in the final fifteen minutes so they soften without disintegrating, absorbing the herb-infused liquid while contributing their own natural sweetness to balance the bitterness. The finished soup is limpid, fragrant, and layered: first you taste the savory depth of the meat stock, then the vegetal sweetness of the roots, and finally a slow herbal warmth that lingers at the back of the throat. Serving this soup is an act of care in aboriginal Taiwanese households. Elders typically prepare it for family members who are recovering from illness, returning from hard outdoor work, or facing the change of seasons. At communal harvest festivals — particularly the Amis 'Ilisin' — large pots of wild herb broth are cooked communally and ladled out to guests as a gesture of welcome and collective nourishment. Making it at home today, whether you source dried herbs from a Chinese herbal medicine shop or forage seasonal greens from a farmers market, reconnects you with one of East Asia's oldest and most thoughtful cooking traditions.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 ozdried wild herbs (mugwort, astragalus, goji leaf)
• 300 gpork or chicken, sliced
• 2 largecarrots, sliced
• 1 smallturnip, cubed
• 6 cupswater or stock
• 1 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse and soak dried herbs

   Place the dried herbs in a bowl with cold water and soak for 5 minutes to remove any dust or grit, then drain. This step also slightly rehydrates the herbs so they release their compounds more evenly during simmering. If using fresh mugwort or goji leaf, simply rinse under cold running water.

   Bundle the herbs loosely in a piece of cheesecloth tied with kitchen twine — this makes removal effortless and keeps the broth clean.

2. 2

   Blanch the protein

   Place the sliced pork or chicken in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 2 minutes — you will see grey foam rise to the surface. Drain immediately and rinse the meat under cold running water until clean. This blanching step removes blood and impurities and is the reason the finished broth stays clear and light.

   Starting with cold water rather than boiling draws out impurities more effectively.

3. 3

   Build the herb broth

   Pour 6 cups of water or light stock into a medium saucepan and bring to a full boil over high heat. Add the herb bundle (or loose herbs) and the blanched protein. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle rolling simmer — small bubbles breaking steadily at the surface, around 90–95°C. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, allowing the herbs to perfume the liquid and the meat to cook through.

   Resist the urge to rush this at a hard boil; a furious boil clouds the broth and cooks off the delicate aromatic oils in the herbs.

4. 4

   Add root vegetables

   Add the sliced carrots and cubed turnip to the simmering broth. Continue to simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, until the carrots yield easily when pierced with a chopstick but still hold their shape — they should not be mushy. The turnip will become translucent and sweet, absorbing the herbal broth beautifully.

5. 5

   Remove herb bundle and season

   Lift out and discard the herb bundle or use a slotted spoon to remove loose herbs. Taste the broth — it should have a pleasant earthy bitterness overlaid with sweetness from the vegetables and savory depth from the meat. Add the salt gradually, tasting between additions. The broth should not taste heavily salted; the seasoning is a gentle background note.

   If the bitterness feels too sharp, a pinch of sugar or a few drops of soy sauce rounds it out without masking the herbal quality.

6. 6

   Rest and skim

   Remove the pot from the heat and let it rest, uncovered, for 3–4 minutes. Any remaining fat will rise to the surface and can be skimmed off with a spoon for a lighter broth, or left in for a richer result. The brief resting period also allows the flavors to settle and integrate.

7. 7

   Serve

   Ladle the broth, meat, and vegetables into deep bowls. The soup is traditionally served very hot, as the warmth is considered part of its restorative quality. Accompany with steamed rice on the side or enjoy the broth on its own as a restorative starter.

   A small dish of sea salt and a few slices of fresh chili placed on the table let diners adjust seasoning to their own taste, which is the traditional way of serving.

Variations

• •

  Mountain mushroom version: add 100 g of dried shiitake or wood ear mushrooms (soaked and rinsed) along with the herbs at the start — they deepen the broth's umami significantly and are particularly common in Bunun and Tsou highland cooking.

• •

  Fish broth version: replace pork or chicken with 300 g of firm white fish (grouper or sea bass work well) added in the final 8 minutes only, so it stays tender. This is the coastal Amis interpretation, which traditionally uses freshwater trout or eel caught from mountain streams.

• •

  Hearty noodle soup: cook 80 g of wide rice noodles or wheat noodles separately, then place them in the serving bowl and ladle the hot herb broth, meat, and vegetables over the top. This turns the soup into a complete one-bowl meal.

• •

  Fully vegetarian: omit the meat entirely and use a kombu or dried shiitake stock as the base liquid. Increase the herb quantity by about 50% to compensate for the missing savory depth from meat, and add a piece of tofu cut into 2 cm cubes in the final 5 minutes.

• •

  Slow cooker adaptation: combine blanched protein, soaked herbs, and root vegetables in a slow cooker with 6 cups of water. Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours. The long, low heat draws an extraordinarily deep flavor from the herbs without any risk of boiling the broth cloudy.

Storage

Cool the soup to room temperature within 2 hours of cooking, then refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days. The flavors deepen overnight, making next-day soup arguably better than freshly made. To reheat, warm gently over medium-low heat until just simmering — do not boil, which toughens the meat. The soup also freezes well for up to 2 months; freeze the broth and vegetables together and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions