Greetings
all!
As
the weather is slowly turning cooler, do you cook more soups to keep warm? Did you
know that soup has a long history around the world, probably going back to
prehistoric times when early people started cooking food in water in turtle shells,
bamboo, and finally metal pots in Bronze Age?
Here
are some delicious soups from around the world!
Banga [Nigeria]
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Shutterstock
This
soup has fresh catfish, beef and dried seafood, with fruits from the oil
palm tree and spices.
Beef
pho [Vietnam]
Image: Leisa Tyler/LightRocket/Getty Images
This
aromatic rice noodle soup is one of the most recognized Vietnamese dishes and originally
was served with slices of raw beef cooked gently in broth.
Borscht [Ukraine]
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Shutterstock
This
beet soup cooked across Eastern Europe is one of my favorite dishes all year round. You
can read my Borscht recipe post HERE.
Bouillabaisse [France]
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Shutterstock
In
this fisherman’s stew, fresh fish from the sea is cooked with saffron, olive
oil, fennel, garlic and tomatoes.
Caldo
verde [Portugal]
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Shutterstock
This
hearty “green broth” soup from Portugal is made with potatoes, chouriço sausage (similar to chorizo but not the same), and collard
greens or kale.
Chorba
frik [Algeria, Libya and Tunisia]
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Shutterstock
This
North African Soup features tomato broth and aromatic spices, with chickpeas and
stewed chicken, beef, mutton or lamb.
Chupe
de camarones [Peru]
Image:
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post/Getty Images
This creamy soup is for shrimp lovers – and it has potatoes, corn, and aji amarillo
(a chili pepper).
Gazpacho [Spain]
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Shutterstock
This
soup is perfect for hot days, with its refreshing combination of tomatoes, cucumbers,
garlic and olive oil, and stale breadcrumbs. Did you know that “Arabs brought
the dish to the Iberian Peninsula centuries before Spaniards tasted tomatoes, a
New World ingredient. The original was a blend of bread, garlic and olive oil,
pounded in a mortar and seasoned with vinegar?” You can read my Gazpacho recipe post HERE.
Groundnut
soup [West Africa]
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Shutterstock
This
creamy, rich and salty soup with meat, fish or chicken simmered into a
thick peanut stew is popular across West Africa.
Gumbo [United States]
Image:
Tom McCorkle/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Gumbo
is usually associated with Louisiana and was influenced by West African,
Native Choctaw and French cuisines. There are multiple ways to make this
soup – with seafood, chicken and sausage, and ground, dried sassafras
leaves - and many of them are presented at the World Championship Gumbo
Cookoff, which just took place this past weekend in Louisiana!
Harira [Morocco]
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Shutterstock
This
chickpea stew – with cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and pepper in a savory tomato
broth - is also popular in Algeria and can be vegetarian or include lamb.
Kharcho [Georgia]
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Shutterstock
This
Georgian soup is made with fatty beef and ground walnuts with tkemali (a tart
plum sauce) and various spices.
Lanzhou
beef noodle soup [China]
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Shutterstock
In
this traditional soup, hand-shaped noodles are added into a bowl of beef broth, tender
beef, radish, chili oil and fresh herbs.
Mohinga [Myanmar]
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Street
vendors sell this this soup out of giant vats, where fish and rice noodles are
simmered in an aromatic broth with herbs and thickened with toasted rice powder.
Menudo [Mexico]
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Shutterstock
Menudo
is a traditional Mexican soup made with tripe, hominy, raw onions, and cilantro in a garlicky broth. This soup is not only popular at weddings and other big occasions, but also is said to cure hangovers!
Moqueca
de camarão [Brazil]
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Shutterstock
Another
soup for shrimp-lovers! Traditionally, this soup is cooked in a handmade pot
made from black clay and the sap of mangrove trees, and then brought to the
table in the same authentic vessel. What a lovely tradition!
Soto
ayam [Indonesia]
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Shutterstock
This
chicken noodle soup is made with a lot of spices - fresh turmeric, star anise,
cinnamon, lemongrass and lime leaves – and also has an interesting addition of soft-boiled
eggs. I love this twist and now add hard- or soft-boiled eggs to many of my
vegetarian soups!
Tom
yum goong [Thailand]
Image:
Natasha Breen/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
There
are many tom yum soup varieties in Thailand - tom refers to the boiling process, while yam means 'mixed'. Tom yum goong is an aromatic
version with prawns and Shiitake mushrooms.
Tonkotsu
ramen [Japan]
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Shutterstock
Did you know that in Japan, loudly slurping your ramen soup shows respect to your ramen chef? So go ahead and slurp
this classic ramen soup - flavored with pork bones, slices of pork belly and noodles!
Yayla
çorbasi [Turkey]
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Shutterstock
This
creamy yogurt soup with boiled rice or barley and some dried mint is not only
delicious but is also considered medicinal, and some Turkish hospitals serve it to
recovering patients!
Side note: There
are so many interesting and delicious soups in different cultures and countries so I want to add 2 more to my post:
Adas
b’ Hamoud [Lebanon]
A
friend from Lebanon shared a recipe for this Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup with
Lemon Juice that looks very tasty. And this healthy soup was also featured on the Blue Zone site!
Sinigang
[Phillipines]
Image:
Shutterstock
This
soup was named the Best Soup in the World in 2021 by Taste Atlas. Its sour and
savory taste is usually associated with tamarind.
Sources:
Have you tried any of these soups? Which
one is your favorite? Drop me a line!
