Top 15 Warm and Hearty Foods in Asia to Try First

What to eat in winter? They say winter is the season for nourishing food — and they’re absolutely right. In addition to hot pot dishes, heartier and more flavorful dishes are also very popular. Sipping a bowl of hot soup is truly one of the most affordable luxuries in winter, and warm sweet soups also nourish and soothe the lungs. Forget about dieting for now — winter is the time to indulge and chase away that chilly breeze.

When it comes to hot pot without soup, sukiyaki is unmatched. Originating from Japan, sukiyaki is also a favorite among many Taiwanese. If you have the chance to visit Japan, don’t miss out on trying the local version — it’s definitely worth the trip. MORITA-ya, located in the Marunouchi area around Tokyo Station, is an old shop founded in the 2nd year of the Meiji era. Originally established in Kyoto, it’s a beef specialty restaurant. Thanks to its self-produced beef, all its dishes are incredibly delicious. This is Kyoto-raised, finely textured self-produced beef, and among its various dishes, sukiyaki is the most classic. The shop uses a specially blended sauce that enhances the sweetness of the beef, and the evenly distributed fat leaves a lingering flavor in your mouth.

 

Hot and hearty noodle soup is always a top choice for a winter meal. Take a sip of the shop’s carefully prepared broth, then bite into the chewy ramen — what a joy in life. Tokyo is truly a battleground for ramen, with not only the Yokohama Ramen Museum but also countless ramen shops lining the streets, many of which have long queues. If you prefer bold flavors, you can’t miss tonkotsu soy sauce broth. Kōmen, a tonkotsu soy sauce-style ramen shop in Ikebukuro, is always packed, and the later it gets, the more crowded it becomes — arrive late and you’ll have to wait. Their signature dish, “Yamamoto Kōmen,” features soy sauce broth with medium-thick noodles, and its standout feature is the addition of fried onions. The simplest aged kōmen costs less than 800 yen, yet the broth is simmered for 12 hours — labor-intensive but absolutely delicious.

 

A seasonal dish unique to Iwate Prefecture — Nanbu Hatto Nabe (南部はっと鍋). In the Iwate dialect, “hatto” refers to flour-based food. Nanbu Hatto Nabe was initiated by the Iwate Noodle Makers Association and combines various seafood abundant in the Sanriku region of Iwate, along with highland vegetables and mountain produce, all cooked in a rich-iron Nanbu iron pot. The broth is simmered with kombu and soy sauce, and finally, udon-like noodles are added.

Located in Morioka on the Iwate Line, Segawa’s signature dish is Nanbu Hatto Nabe. It offers a variety of serving plates, and the hatto (はっと), which resembles udon, has just the right springiness. Individual dishes such as unagi kabayaki and fried oysters are also quite good.