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Where to find hot soups to chase the chill
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The arrival of midwinter means that the coldest days of the season are here, so it’s a good time for a bowl of steaming soup to warm the stomach and chase away the shivers.
Many delicious soups made from a variety of ingredients are served in the winter, both at roadside food stalls and high-end restaurants. Chinese classic soups including Cantonese lao huo tang (slow-cooked soup) and Sichuan ma la tang (spicy soup) and exotic Russian hot borscht and Japanese miso soup are good choices for dinner.
Shanghai Daily introduces these soups and tells you where to find them in Hangzhou.
Miso soup
Miso soup is an important part of Japanese culinary culture. The main ingredients are miso and dashi. Miso is a variety of Japanese seasoning made from fermented soybeans, which is similar to Chinese dou jiang (soybean milk). Dashi is a kind of broth made of kelp, sardines and dried, shaved fish. The ingredients are full of protein, vitamins and minerals.
Other ingredients can be added such as tofu, seaweed, potatoes, onions, shrimp and radishes, usually varying by regions and seasons.
In Japan, miso soup is considered the best match with rice; the two foods usually are eaten for breakfast.
Hatsune
Address: 100-2 Qingshagu Town, Lishui Rd
Tel: (0571) 8802-7588
Dain Ti Hill
Address: 4th, A Pavilion, Hangzhou Tower, 1 Wuling Square
Tel: (0571) 8500-5177
Lao Huo Liang Tang
The name means the soup is simmered for a long time. The Cantonese are noted for their preference for soups, which are considered essential to health.
Such soups usually include herbs. They believe that such soups help build and restore the body.
The most famous soup varieties are black-bone chicken boiled with red date, Chinese yam and tuckahoe, and oxtail soup boiled with Chinese wolfberry. These soups feature a thick broth.
In Cantonese tradition, a woman is judged by her capability in making a big bowl of slow-cooked soup.
He Ji Liang Tang
Address: 103 Nanshan Rd
Tel: (0571) 8702-7539
Yi Fang Liang Tang
Address: 221 Zhaohui Rd
Borscht
Borscht can be served hot or cold, but we’re going to talk about the one served hot.
Borscht is popular in Eastern and Central European countries. After the October Revolution of 1917, Russian refugees spread the dish in China, especially in Shanghai. Chinese people modified it to local tastes, making it a common menu item in restaurants.
Tomato and beetroot usually are the main ingredients of borscht. The soup usually is colored red by beets, but it can be green when spinach is used instead of beets.
Hot borscht is a hearty dish with beef or pork and starchy vegetables. It goes well with dark rye bread.
Caribbean Restaurant
Address: 56-1 Yan’an Rd
Tel: (0571) 8780-9900
Bullfighter Restaurant
Address: 6 Dongpo Rd
Tel: (0571) 8717-2546
Ma la tang
Ma la tang means numb, spicy and hot in Chinese. It is one of China’s most common foods, often served in roadside food stalls and small shops.
The soup should be simmered for hours and kept chilled for a week before it is served.
The ingredients usually include common vegetables, soybeans, meat, noodles and vermicelli. Vendors boil them in the soup, then top it with minced garlic, peanuts and caraway.
It is said ma la tang was created by Sichuan boatmen who picked up vegetables growing on riverbank and boiled them with chilies and peppers in pots. The pungent soup helped them get through the cold winter and remove excess moisture from their bodies.
Grandma Ji Ma La Tang
Address: 101 Wen’er Rd
Tel: (0571) 8880-5323
Chongqing Bareheaded Ma La Tang
Address: 154 Wenyi Rd
Tel: (0571) 8805-4579
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