The classic Cantonese dish "Goji Leaf and Pork Liver Soup" is said to have a history of consumption of at least a thousand years, often passed down in southern folk traditions as a "food-medicine homology" dish.
According to "Ben Jing Feng Yuan," this dish has the effect of "reducing internal heat and clearing the head and eyes," while "Shi Liao Ben Cao" believes it "expels wind, strengthens bones and muscles, is beneficial to people, and eliminates weakness." In summary, it has the effects of nourishing liver yin, clearing liver heat, and improving vision.
Why is pork liver paired with goji leaves? This is because pork liver has a natural "meaty" flavor that can be somewhat off-putting on its own. However, when it encounters goji leaves, a vegetable that also has a natural "grassy" flavor, the fats from the pork liver and the juices from the goji leaves permeate each other. This combined flavor gives the taste buds a sensation that is both savory-sweet and fresh and light. It can be said that the flavor is incomplete without the other; pork liver without goji leaves, or goji leaves without pork liver, would not be the complete taste.
In the eyes of Cantonese people, making a pot of goji leaf and pork liver soup is an art with specific rules.
First, the tender goji shoots must be separated from their stems and leaves. This is usually done by hand, stripping all the leaves off with a single pull. Then, when making the soup, the goji stems are first simmered over low heat. Once the flavor from the stems is released, they are removed, and the goji leaves are added. It is said this is because some of the stems are old and some are tender. When cooked into the soup, the old stems are fibrous to eat but flavorful, while the tender stems and leaves have a good texture but lack flavor. Therefore, the best method is to first simmer the stems to extract their flavor (which has a slight bitterness, but this is the desired taste), and then add the tender leaves to cook with the pork liver.