Hello Meltingpot Readers,
I’m sick. *waaahhh* I woke up with a sore throat yesterday and by last night, I was an achy, snotty mess. Needless to say, I wasn’t even thinking about making dinner, instead I asked el esposo to pick up some soup. More specifically, I wanted Ramen from this new Ramen bar, not too far from our house. Unfortunately, according to el esposo, it was too far. Instead he offered to get Korean soft tofu soups. I didn’t complain.
And that’s when I realized, dear readers, that my meltingpot-ness goes deep. Even when it comes to finding the perfect soup for when I’m feeling sick, my top choices have nothing to do with my mom’s homemade chicken soup – although my mom’s chicken soup is damn good. No, when I’ve got a bad cold and my body is asking for hot soup, here are my top five choices for culinary relief.
1. Japanese Ramen: It’s all about the broth with the ramen. And just to be clear, nobody is talking about the ramen noodles you ate in college. I mean the real ramen that consists of hand-drawn noodles, swimming in rich, delicious pork bone broth and topped with an egg and layers of crisp vegetables.
2. Pickled Vegetable with Pork Chinese Soup: I think I first had this soup in New York City’s Chinatown and the combination of salty pork broth and tangy, pickled mustard greens with a hint of fresh ginger, had me at hello. When I’m sick, I think it’s the contrast of salt and sour with the bit of ginger that just screams “liquid medicine” to me. Now that I’m in Philly, I get this soup from Han Dynasty.
3. Korean Soft Tofu Soup: Even though I’ve been a huge fan of Korean food since I discovered it in college, I never tasted Korean soft tofu soup until I moved to Philadelphia and ate at a restaurant called, Korean Soft Tofu. Yeah, the name says it all. This soup has a spicy, garlic infused broth and chunks of super soft tofu. You eat it over rice and add-ins like seafood, pork or mushrooms can be ordered. It is a hearty soup but it goes down easy and I always feel like I’m killing all of the germs plaguing me with the generous amounts of garlic and spice in the broth.
4. Chinese Egg Drop Soup: I didn’t think egg drop soup was actually Chinese. I thought it was an invention created for an American palette. But I was wrong, it does have Chinese origins and is still eaten in China. And it can be ordered from just about any Chinese restaurant in the Untied States. For me, egg drop soup is my go to when I’m really feeling bad. It’s almost bland, goes down easy and for some reason, always settles my stomach. Funny thing, this is my own mother’s favorite sick soup too, which is probably why I started eating it as well.
5. Dominican Chicken Soup: Let me be clear with this one. I don’t know if there is actually a “thing” known as Dominican chicken soup, but I ate at a Dominican restaurant once in Brooklyn and ordered something off the menu called “Dominican Chicken Soup.” It had a deep, rich, meaty broth but it was spiked with lime juice and cilantro. In addition to chicken, the soup was dotted with other vegetables, including a wedge of corn on the cob. For the 13 years we lived in Brooklyn, this was my healing elixir. If I could find a similar soup in Philly, I’d beg el esposo to get some for me tonight. It was that good.
And there you have it, dear readers. This is my meltingpot list of soups for when I’m feeling sick. Please note, you don’t have to be sick to enjoy them.
What about you? What’s your favorite soup for when you’re feeling under the weather? I’m totally listening and taking notes. And then I’m going to take a nap.
Peace!
