Warm up for Winter With These Five Global Soups

Look, we know you know it's winter and we certainly don't want to jam it down your throat. But, any change in the season inevitably necessitates a change in diet and I for one am relishing the opportunity to abandon the salads and cosy up with a warming bowl of soup or stew. While I love a good slow-cooked Chinese broth, Beijing's cosmopolitan restaurants have plenty of global options to sample to keep you going all the way through until spring. 

Tom yum goong (Thailand)
Tom yum ("tom" referring to the boiling method, and "yam" meaning a spicy and sour salad) is a type of soup found across Thailand and Lao. The most popular and widely known version is tom yum goong, amde with prawns as the main ingredient. In most recipes, a Prawn-based broth is seasoned with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and nam prik pao (roasted chili paste), before being finished with prawns, tomatoes, straw mushrooms, and fresh herbs.

Get it: Tasty takeaway shop Sa Thi Thai in Jianwai Soho does a mean tom yum goong, briskly spicy and sour, and pungent with prawn broth. At RMB 68, the portion is more than big enough for two or three people to share. 

Tortilla soup (Mexico)
Sometimes referred to as sopa azteca or sopa de tortilla, tortilla soup brings together many of the classic flavors of Mexican cuisine – chili, tomato, epazote, avocado – in one bowl. Usually featuring a chicken and tomato-based broth spiced with pasilla chilies, the soup is topped with tortilla chips before serving, giving it its name. This is a dish that proves texture is often just as important as flavor: each mouthful should contain crisp tortilla, rich broth, and creamy avocado and sour cream.

Get it: Gung Ho! Pizza do a surprisingly good rendition of tortilla soup for a pizza restaurant, available in store and for delivery, in two sizes, cup (RMB 18) or bowl (34).

Pear soup (China)
We couldn't resist sneaking a local classic onto this list. Litang (梨汤), or sweetened pear soup, is traditionally served during the Beijing winters, a warm, throat-soothing concoction of pears, snow fungus, and rock sugar.

Get it: The clue to Beijing-side restaurant chain Xiaodiao Litang's signature offering is in its name. Their version of pear soup, served in a stylish copper tea pot, is thick and unctuous – consume in moderation.

Related: Migas' Updated Winter Brunch Aims to Spoon Away Your Winter Chills

Soon dubu jjigae (soft tofu soup)
For me, Korean jjigae (a sort of thick stew/soup) are the essence of winter food: spicy, meaty, and almost a meal in themselves. There are endless varieties of jjigae, but most feature a base of broth seasoned with either gochujang (fermented chili paste) or doenjang (soy bean paste). The soup is usually assembled and cooked directly in a stone or earthenware dish, and delivered to the table still bubbling, before being served with rice. Among the most popular versions are kimchi jjigae, seasoned with, you guessed it, kimchi, and soon dubu jjigae, made with fresh, uncurdled tofu and plenty of gochujang and gochugaru (chili flakes).  

Get it: Just one of many restaurants worth a visit in the revamped Grand Summit in Liangmaqiao, Dubujib serves a great version of soon dubu jjigae, richly spiced and accessibly priced.

French onion soup
A must-have dish on the menu of any self-respecting French bistro, French onion soup (or soupe à l'oignon) consists of caramelized onions cooked in beef stock. The dish is usually served with a toasted crouton topped with gratinated Gruyere or Comteé cheese floating on top. Traditionally seen as a peasant dish, since onions were plentiful and easy to grow, the soup underwent a revival in the 1960s with the increasing global popularity of French cuisine. 

Get it: Go for a walk down memory lane with a meal at Justine's in the Jianguo Hotel, which has been serving French cuisine in the capital since 1982. Their version of French onion soup is often recommend on Dianping.

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Photos: Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, Robynne Tindall, Margaux Schreurs