Kitchen Recipe Collection
Sweet Potato Ginger Soup (Fan Shu Tang)
The ultimate winter comfort dessert. Large, tender chunks of sweet potato simmered in a clear, intensely gingery, amber-colored rock sugar broth that warms you to the core.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 4 servings
- 2 large sweet potatoes (yellow or orange flesh), peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 5 cups water
- 1/2 cup Chinese slab brown sugar (Pian Tang) or dark brown sugar
- 1 large piece of old ginger (about 3 inches), smashed
Equipment
- Large pot
Instructions
- 1
Smash Ginger
Use the flat side of a heavy cleaver to smash the ginger piece vigorously. This releases far more flavor than simply slicing it.
- 2
Boil Ginger
Place the water and smashed ginger in a pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and let it boil for 10 minutes to extract a strong, spicy ginger flavor.
- 3
Add Potatoes
Add the sweet potato chunks to the ginger broth.
- 4
Simmer
Simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, but not falling apart.
- 5
Add Sugar
Add the slab sugar to the pot.
- 6
Dissolve
Stir gently until the sugar is completely dissolved. The broth will turn a beautiful clear amber color.
- 7
Serve
Serve immediately while steaming hot. The contrast of the sweet potato and spicy ginger broth is incredible.
Cooking Tips
- Old ginger is absolutely required. Young ginger does not have the fiery, spicy kick needed to balance the sweetness of the potatoes and sugar.
- Slab sugar (Pian Tang) provides a deep, slightly smoky caramel flavor. If using regular brown sugar, add a tiny splash of molasses.
Variations
- Add Tangyuan: Drop in a few plain glutinous rice balls during the last 5 minutes of cooking for a chewy textural addition.
Nutrition Estimate
190 calories · 2g protein · 45g carbs · 0g fat · 4g fiber per serving
