Now for the ingredients.

Chicken, pork ribs, lamb short ribs, beef, turtle - the heartier meats are the choices of the season. As for the last, these are Chinese soft-shell turtles that are specially bred for food. They are about 1 kg in weight and available from good seafood markets. As my mother used to say, do not make friends with your food.

The Chinese home cook also knows to pair seasonal ingredients with the meat base, and these may include Chinese herbs, root vegetables or dried berries used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Every ingredient has a function, whether it is to dispel the gamy smell of the meat, or to balance the yang with the yin, and vice versa. Some is added purely for the taste.

For example, fresh walnut meat is used in a chicken soup, adding a nuttiness to the broth. The walnuts will still be soft and milky from the autumn harvest.

This broth not only nourishes the body, but the walnut is also supposed to give a boost to brainpower, and is therefore a favorite ingredient for mothers with young children.

See soup recipes on the last page.