Winter treats: 10 healthy soups to warm you up

Chicken soup with red date. [Photo/IC]

Nothing offers more satisfaction than a bowl of hot soup in a frigid winter day. It can fortify you against the cold as well as whet your appetite.

In China, soup plays a substantial role in everyday health cultivation, especially during winter and spring times. People usually use animal ingredients, such as beef bone or whole chicken, to provide rich protein and add aroma to the dishes.

Among all the varieties of Chinese food, Cantonese slow-boiled soup is a signature local dish in South China's Guangdong province, possessing many health preserving recipes dating back over 1,000 years.

Chinese soups produce numerous flavors and health benefits depending on the stock and seasoning. For example, black-bone chicken soup with Chinese yam and orange peel can serve as a curative dish to nourish one's vitality.

The common method to cook soups in China has five steps:

1. Rinse, scald and drain the ingredients.

2. Fill the soup pot with enough cold water (never add cold water during the cooking), boil it, and then turn to low heat.

3. Add flavoring like ginger and cooking wine.

4. Boil again, change to medium heat and simmer for 3 - 4 hours. The soup is done when its color turn into milky white.

5. Add the salt according to your preference.

And don't just focus on the soup and miss out all the cooked ingredients. Ninety percent of the protein still lies in the meat!

Here are some healthy easy-to-do soups you can try out at home.