Chicken Ginger Rice Wine Soup (薑雞酒湯)

This soup exists at the intersection of food and medicine. It is the dish that Chinese families have made for new mothers for generations, part of the postpartum tradition called "sitting the month," a 30-day period of rest, warmth, and specific foods designed to help the body recover after childbirth. Every ingredient in this pot has a purpose that goes beyond flavor.

Ginger, sliced thin and fried until fragrant, is the foundation. In traditional Chinese medicine, a new mother's body is considered to be in a cold, depleted state, and ginger is the most commonly prescribed warming food. Wood ear mushroom is added for its traditional association with promoting circulation. Jujubes, the red dates that appear in so many Chinese soups, are considered blood-nourishing. Dried daylily buds add a faintly sweet, floral note and are traditionally associated with postpartum recovery. Peanuts provide protein and substance.

The rice wine goes in at the very end, after the soup has finished cooking. This is not cooking wine, which is salted and harsh. This is drinking rice wine, specifically Kwangtung Mijiu or a similar quality Chinese rice wine with about 29 percent alcohol. It adds warmth and a round, slightly sweet depth that ties the whole soup together. Whether or not you have recently had a child, this is a deeply nourishing, ginger-forward soup that tastes like someone who loves you made it.