Move over medicines, healthy soups are gaining favor among nutritionists to treat common ailments.

Soups are not just comforting and delicious, but also very nutritious. A hearty bowl is great for curing sore throats, insomnia or cold. Try these healthy soups by herbalist Nhu Ta for a delicious meal back to good health.

Rau má (pennywort), tôm khô (dried shrimp) soup

The shrimp and pennywort soup is full of flavor and is great for fever, dry throat.

Ingredients: 200g young, tender pennywort, 20g dried shrimp

Directions: Soak young pennywort in salt water for 15 minutes. Remove and chop roughly. Soak dried shrimp in warm water for 10 minutes, and pound it in a mortar to make a fine paste. Boil water and add shrimp paste. Cook for five minutes. Add pennywort and season with salt and sugar.

Khổ qua (bitter melon) and lean meat soup

The bitter melon and lean meat soup is great for diabetics and also cools the body.

Ingredients: Three bitter melons, 50g pork, mi^n (vermicelli made of cassava), edible fungus, spring onion and onion

Directions: Soak edible fungus and vermicelli in water (in separate bowls). Remove after 15 minutes and julienne the fungus. Finely chop the lean pork, spring onions, and onions. Toss the mixture together with fungus, vermicelli, salt and sugar. Deseed the bitter melons and wash them well. Stuff the mixture into the melons. Boil two big bowls of water in a pot and add the bitter melons. Reduce the heat and cook until the melons are soft.

Pork chop and medicinal herbs soup

The herbed pork soup is a hearty remedy for sore throats and insomnia.

Ingredients: 200g young pork chop, 10g huyền sâm (figwort), 10g ngọc trúc (scientific name: Polygonatum officinale All), 10g sa sâm (scientific name: Launae pinnatifida Cass), 10g kỷ tử (Chinese wolfberry), 10g hạt sen (lotus seed), 20g sinh địa (scientific name: Rehmannia Glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch), 5g kim th^ch h^c (scientific name: Herba Dendrobii), and five red jujubes.

Preparation: Wash the pork chop well and add it to boiling water. When the meat becomes tender, add the herbs and red jujubes. Continue to cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Season the soup with salt and sugar.