Dengzhou Spicy Soup

Dengzhou Spicy Soup

　　Dengzhou Spicy Soup is a specialty snack from Dengzhou City, Nanyang, Henan Province. Also known as Hula Soup, this dish has a long history. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao accidentally tasted this thick and spicy soup and was so impressed that he personally named it “Hula Soup.”

　　The ingredients of Dengzhou Spicy Soup are relatively simple, mainly consisting of fresh fatty lamb, wheat gluten, and flour paste, mixed with over twenty kinds of vegetables and seasonings such as green onions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, pepper, chili, fennel, and enoki mushrooms. The soup has a brownish color and a delicious taste. A few drops of sesame oil and aged vinegar added before eating enhance its aroma, making it almost heavenly to the palate.

　　In Dengzhou, nearly a thousand small vendors and dozens of larger shops serve Spicy Soup. Among them, the most famous are “Guai Zi Spicy Soup” and “Han Family Spicy Soup.” Both are century-old establishments that have perfected the flavor, aroma, and appearance of the soup, making them extremely popular among locals. Sixty years ago, a folk rhyme circulated in Dengzhou: “Spicy Soup with steamed buns, eat your fill and watch the fireworks at night.” Today, Han Family Spicy Soup alone operates four or five branches within Dengzhou city.

　　Nowadays, Dengzhou Spicy Soup has gained widespread fame. Whenever visitors come to Dengzhou, trying it is a must. The savvy locals, while consolidating their market at home, have also set their sights globally. They have established Dengzhou Spicy Soup branches in dozens of large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, and Guangzhou, and have even spread the dish to Southeast Asia.