Sishen Soup
(四神汤, 四臣汤, Si shen tang, Si chen tang, Chinese Four Herbs Soup)
Thought to have originated in China, sishen soup is a traditional dish prepared with a mixture of herbs, pig stomach, and lean pork or pork spareribs that are simmered together in water or pork stock. The soup is believed to have its roots in the era of Emperor Qianlong when, according to one legend, a certain monk prescribed such herbal concoction to the Emperor’s four ministers as a remedy.
That is allegedly the reason why the soup was named the four minister soup or si chen tang, just to be misread as si shen tang while spreading to Taiwan. Initially, a blend of four herbs, namely Chinese wild yam (huai shan), white lotus seeds (lian zi), Euryale seeds (qian shi), and poria (fu ling), were used in the preparation of this soup with each of them having their own unique medicinal properties.
Over the years, a plethora of variations of the traditional soup mix have emerged, with some using other types of herbs with similar medicinal properties, omitting the pork offal part, or even using different kinds of meat, such as chicken. A common home-cooked dish and a popular street food item, sishen soup can also be found in the form of packaged bags that are available at numerous Chinese supermarkets and herbal shops.
