We are often asked by our vegetarian readers what to substitute the meat ingredients in our soups with.
In the book we recommend using figs, and dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms as a substitute for most of the recipes. A standard amount per recipe would be 8 mushrooms and 6 frozen figs.
However, for winter only, you can try using goji berries, kudzu root, longan pulp, and jujube in lieu of meat. This combination helps to improve your blood supply, which supports "warmth." A standard amount per recipe would be 7 ounces of kudzu root, 3 jujube (pits removed), 2 teaspoons of goji berries, and 6 pieces of longan meat.