Nutritious Roots Soup?

Wild edible roots and tubers have provided people all over Asia with food for thousand of years. Now widely cultivated, these roots are eaten in many ways. Cooked as vegetables, used in desserts, drinks and grounded to make flour etc... Most root vegetables are high in nutritional value. In fact, some roots and tubers like tapioca, sweet potato, yambean replaces rice as the staple diet in certain parts of Asia.

My first selection for this nutritional soup is a tuber called arrowroot (fun koat in Cantonese). Originated from Central America, is occassionally eaten as a vegetable in Japan and China. Arrrowroot looks slightly like a long tapioca with a fresh and pleasant aroma and texture. This tuber is known to relieve acidity, stomach cramps and indigestion. Paired with the lotus roots (ling ngaw in Cantonese) made famous by the chinese, transforms this soup into a treasured delicacy for a soup friendly home. The lotus root consists of a number of linked segments approx. 10 - 20 cm in length each. When sliced, the crisp flesh reveals a series of hollow chambers and not to mention this root has appreciable amounts of vitamin C and some level of calcium. Peanuts, often known as groundnuts (faa tzang in Cantonese) in Asia, also comes from roots. They are actually nodules which form on the roots of a bushy leguminous plant. It is rich in calcium, thiamine, carbohydrates, phosphorus and niacin. Besides all the underground goodies, some chinese herbs like boxthorn fruit (kei chee) and red dates (hoong choe) are added for more nutritional values. 3 litres of filtered water 1 arrowroot (10 inches long), peeled and cut into chunks. 1 lotus root (aprox. 3 short segments), sliced. 1 handful of skinless groundnuts 1 handful of seeded red dates (washed under filtered water) 1 handful of boxthorn fruit (washed under filtered water) 1 chicken breast (washed and cut into 2)

Bring water to boil in a soup pot and put in all the ingredients above. Bring to boil for 10 minutes and transfer to a heated slow-cooker and set timer for 3 1/2 hours. Sea salt to taste.