Children Soups
This unique category of soups is designed and made for babies and children. Some Chinese soups contain herbal ingredients that aren’t appropriate for children due to its intense health benefits and potency and is not recommended for children.
The best approach to Chinese soups for children is to use high quality ingredients and limited herbs and additives. Although there is historic and traditional benefits to using herbs, there is limited scientific and proven information on Chinese herbs and its effects on people (especially children). So be sure to use herbs in limited amounts and ingredients that you can trust and are 100% sure won’t harm your children.
Below is a list of soups appropriate for children. As western thinking Chinese, we have given this to our children as young as 8 months. I know some sites (especially Chinese ones) recommend giving soups to your children as young as 4 months, but we still follow the recommended 6 months (to start solids) according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and many other health organizations. We will continue to add to this list as our soup database grows.
Soups appropriate for children and babies:
Apple and Corn in Chicken Soup
Black Bean Cuttlefish Soup
Chayotes, Corn with Mushrooms in Pork Broth
Chicken & Veggies – Soup for Beginners
Chicken Herbal Soup
Chicken Soup with Baby Wintermelon and Corn
Chinese Radish with Carrots in Pork Broth
Cooling Wintermelon Soup
Corn with Ham in Turkey Broth
Easy Cream of Corn and Egg Drop Soup
Fish Paste and Lettuce Soup
Fish Tail Soup with Lily Bulb and Carrots
Frog Legs with Wintermelon and Pork Bones Soup
Ham Bone Sour Vegetable Soup
Luo Han Guo and Apricot Kernals with Pork Shank Soup
Old Cucumber Soup with Azuki Beans and Lentils
Old Cucumber with Chinese Yam in Pork Broth
Orange Vegetable Fish Soup
Oxtail and Vegetable Soup
Ox-tail Apple Soup
Papaya and Corn with Yam in Pork Broth
Papaya Fish Soup
Pork Bones and Arrowroot Soup
Pork Bones with Apples and Snow Pears Soup
Pork Bones with Bok Choy and Tofu Soup
Pork Bones with Lotus Root Soup
Pork Bones with Water Chestnut and Arrowroot Soup
Pork Shank with Chayote, Carrots and Corn Soup
Pumpkin, Corn and Chestnuts in Pork Broth
Red Dates and Young Coconut with Fish Tail Soup
Seabed Coconut, Carrot and Corn Soup
Snow Pear and Watermelon Pork Shank Soup
Sweet Potato & Ginger Soup Dessert
Tomato Fish Soup
Vegetarian Arrowroot and Corn Soup
Winter Chicken Soup
Zesty Tomato and Potato Soup
Some things to avoid:
- The Chinese often use peanuts in their soups. If you’re concerned with your children having a too early exposure to peanuts (even if they are boiled), then be sure to ask restaurants about peanuts in soups and not to use peanuts yourselves.
- Chestnuts are also another common ingredient used in Chinese cuisine (and soups). Although chestnut allergies are less common, they still exist.
- Tomatoes in soups are another questionable ingredient due to the acidity of the fruit and because tomatoes are considered an allergenic food. It is recommended to give children tomatoes after one year in age, so it may be best to avoid using tomatoes in soups until they are a year old.
- Cornstarch as a thickener. Many sites and a more traditional way of making soups will encourage the use of cornstarch to “thicken” the soup. This serves no real purpose other than to thicken (which can potentially be a chocking hazard to your baby/child) and has no flavour. So why add it? As parents of young children, our motto is to be as natural as possible.
- Salt. You should be using minimal salt when making soups for children (even for your family). Use natural ingredients to enhance flavour and if it’s not salty enough, use salt in moderation. My thoughts are more, deal with the natural taste because too much salt causes high blood pressure and a slew of other health related problems.
Just wondering if there are still some nutrients in the remaining vegetables after the soup is finished boiling. My family believes that all the nutrients are all in the soup and that the vegetables and meat have no nutritional value.
While it’s true that many nutrients are transferred into the soup (for example, the water-soluble vitamins, including vitamin C and B-complex, among others), many other nutrients, minerals, and the fiber remains behind. Carbohydrates and protein are also considered “nutritional”. I almost always eat the vegetables, meat, and other edible ingredients from my soups for maximum nutrition. Sometimes, my soup is the entire meal! Hope that helps.
Tracy
What do you call pork shank, chayote and grass carp in cantonese?
It’s difficult to translate in Cantonese because of the tones, but as a native English speaker, here’s my best shot.
Pork Shank = Jew (Pig) Gzeen
Chayote = Hup Jeung Gwaa (melon)
Grass Carp = Wan (to play) Yu (Fish)
Does that help? Please let me know. If not, we can always record a wave file and just email it to you!
Lisa
I love my soup, Wonderful information
feels like my mother is next to me
My child is 4 years old with mild asthma,nose allergy and skin allergy. I am very lost because Dr said her body is “han” means cold.When i cook ox tail soup for her, she ill get a fever due to over heaty, when i cook lo han guo or chrysantenum tea, she will start coughing with phelgm and Dr said her body is too cold. Please help to recomend a soup for me to cook for her everyday. Thank you!
Hi Lady Tong,
thanks for all the great recipe, will certainly try them out.
just a short question, im having a 8mth old, for a baby we should be adding salt or sugar into their diet. will you be able to recommend soup that are suitable for a baby under 1yr old?
thanks
Hi Janice,
I would not recommend adding salt or sugar unnecessarily to their diet, which is why we use natural sweeteners where possible (ie: dried dates, fruits, dried longans). A few great recipes I gave my children under 1 year old (but already on solids) are:
Vegetarian Arrowroot & Corn Soup
Apple and Corn in Chicken Soup
Pork Bones with Apples and Snow Pears Soup
Chicken and Veggies – Soup for Beginners
All of the above contain ingredients safe for an 8 month old. I also didn’t put in any tomatoes yet (as that is recommended for children >1 year old) or anything that contains many herbs. Hope this helps! Lisa
Dear Meshelle,
My daughter also has a delicate respiratory system (lungs & throat). Try something more “neutral”. However, to be fair, having phlegm is not a symptom of “cold” – although cough may be. There may be other underlying reasons why she has phlegm – however I am not a doctor, so the best I can recommend is something definitely neutral. Try:
Chayotes, Corn with Mushrooms in Pork Broth
Fish Tail Soup with Lily Bulb and Carrot
Papaya and Corn with Yam in Pork Broth
There are many neutral soups for everyday consumption. Fish soup is a great one. For phlegm, stay away from red, dried or sweet dates. Also avoid longan meat as that will also create more phlegm. Hope this helps! Lisa
Hello Lady Tong,
Thanks for the this wonderful website. My family loves the soup I cooked(based on your recipes) : )
Would you be able to give me some soup suggestions for my almost 3 years old daughter who has bronchitis? She’s on antibiotics now & doesn’t have much appetite.
Thanks,
Chris
Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I love chinese soup, and always want to make it. They are so good for you and less salty and creamy like other soup. I can’t read chinese and your website makes it so simple and convenient. THANK YOU>!!!
Hi Chris, thanks for your support! For your daughter, try something more neutral, but packed with nutrients since she doesn’t have much appetite.
This is a good one – lots of beta carotene and neutral ingredients + sufficient amount of soft starch should she want to nibble. http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/corn-pumpkin-and-carrots-in-fis-broth/
Here is another neutral soup that is naturally slightly sweet – which I find the kids love! http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/chinese-pumpkin-with-sweet-potato-and-tomato-soup/
G’luck and wishing her all the best in her recovery!
Lisa
Thanks for suggestions & well wishes, Lisa. I like the fact that you explain in Mandarin & even show the photos of what ingredients look like your website. Makes it so much easier when I go grocery shopping. My daughter’s doing a lot better and now it’s time to nurse her body back to healthy state. Really appreciate your help. Take care!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lady Tong
My 16months toddler is down with fever, may i know is there any soup i can make for her, do u think the green radish with carrot soup boil with pork shank helps? my hubby oso quite heaty most of the time… i hope this soup is good for all… thanks
Hi Candy,
Green radish with carrots is a great soup for cooling, although my veggie vendor tells me that if they have a cough, to avoid carrots. An excellent soup can be: http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/vegetarian-arrowroot-and-corn-soup/ . All the ingredients are very neutral and not overly cooling. Hope this helps! Lisa
Hi Lady Tong,
My son has just fracture his arm. Do you have any soup to recommend me to aid his healing?
Thanks
Rachel
Dear Rachel,
Warm soups help with healing, so anything with Chicken is a good base. Try the Chicken Herbal Soup or the Chicken Vegetable. As for children, I do try to avoid too many Chinese herbs and use more natural ingredients. In general though, these are soups that are good for the overall body and not necessarily fractures. I hope this helps and I know it’s very general, but specifically for bone fractures, I will have to ask my herbalist for a recommendation. Thanks, LIsa
Thank you so much for ur precious recipes… i always refer and cook accordingly (smaller portion for 2-3 person) n it always turn out great… n something new for everyone… u r such a wonderful person who shares… luv ya…
Hi Lady Tong
Which soup do you recommend for reducing throat irritation causing mild cough with or without phlegm?
Thanks.
regards
Theresa
Dear Theresa, basically, it sounds like a dry cough you’re talking about (or hacking cough). Try Pig’s lung soups (like this one: Almond and Pig’s Lungs). It is moisturizing and helps reduce coughs. I hope this helps! Lisa
Leave your response!
Soup of The Day
Search Soups
Other Foodie Blogs
Most Commented
Most Viewed