The best dishes for winter - and where to get them

There’s an upside to the cold winter weather. Asian restaurants begin serving steaming hot dishes that trace back hundreds if not thousands of years.

Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine suggest eating “heating” foods, such as lamb and cardamom, during cold spells. Other meals are linked to festivities, such as Korean rice cake soup on New Year’s Day.

Here are 9 much-loved winter foods and where to order them.

1. China: Black chicken soup

Chicken soup is the classic anti-cold dish. Black chicken has more protein, less fat and fewer calories than the regular variety. Chefs add sweet goji berries, yam and herbs such as dang shen to re-align yin and yang.

Fujian Shaxian Xiaochi, 635 Dingxi Lu, Shanghai, tel: 135-2483-3632
Hengshan Café, 308 Hengshan Lu, Shanghai, tel: 86-21-6471-7127

 

2. Hong Kong: Snake soup

In Hong Kong, the cold-blooded snake is a favorite ingredient for warming up. Traditionally served from family-run stalls, snake soup purportedly speeds up blood circulation and banishes winter aches. The reptile meat is sweetened with chrysanthemum and herbs, is chopped into a very un-snake-like appearance for serving -- and said to taste like chicken.

Shia Wong Hip, 170 Ap Liu Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong, tel: 852-2386-9064
Se Wong Yee, 24 Percival Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, tel: 852-2831-0163
Cuisine Cuisine, IFC Mall, Central, Hong Kong, tel: 852-2393-3933

 

3. South Korea: Seolleongtang

Legend has it that in the 15th century, King Seongjong began the ritual of sacrificing a cow and turning it into “snowy soup,” which he ate with the common folk. The stewed ox bones and meat are sometimes mixed with wheat noodles and always garnished with radish kimchi.

Jonggajip Seolleongtang, 1261-2 Chipyeong-dong, Gwangju-si, Seo-gu, tel: 82-62-1330
Bonga Gamasot Seolleongtang, 452-2 Gayang1-dong, Dong-gu, Daejeon, tel: 042-673-8826
Sinchon Seolleongtang, 291 Mannyeon-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, tel: 042-489-2322

 

4. South Korea: Tteokguk

On New Year’s morning, South Koreans traditionally serve a soup made from rice cakes, green onions, eggs and seaweed. The white color of the cakes symbolizes purity, while the coin-like shape brings prosperity. Sometimes, the tteokguk has mandu (dumplings) added.

Koong, 30-11 Gwanghun-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul, tel: 02-733-9240
Yongsusan Samchung, 118-3 Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, tel: 02-739-5599

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