It’s wintertime—which basically means we’ll all be fighting colds for the next quarter of the year. According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s no cure for the common cold so once you get one, your best bet is to find ways to ease symptoms and get better fast. Two of the top recommended treatments include:
- Stay hydrated. Water, juice, clear broth or warm lemon water with honey helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration.
- Sip warm liquids. A cold remedy used in many cultures, taking in warm liquids, such as chicken soup, tea, or warm apple juice, might be soothing and might ease congestion by increasing mucus flow.
Which leads me to soup! A stuffy head means your senses are dulled so a clear broth-based soup delivers something strong that I can both smell and taste while the rising steam might do as much for me mentally as physically in the form of hydration and decongestion. (I stay away from cream-based soups which are typically my favorites during the winter otherwise.)
Whether my personal taste or my body is smarter than even I give it credit for, I tend to lean toward Asian-influenced choices with I’m looking to recoup. Here are a few of my favorite soups along the Wasatch Front that I enjoy all winter long—even when I’m not sick!
Hot and Sour noodle soup at Chabaar Beyond Thai
Chabaar Beyond Thai’s hot & sour noodle soup floats to the top of my cold-fighting list. Customers have renamed it “crack soup,” and once one tastes the tangy, spicy broth, the reason becomes clear. Loaded with herbs and spices, chicken, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, cabbage and instant ramen noodles, it’s made even more perfect with a raw egg on top, which creates a silky, creamy and savory bowl of deliciousness.
“Thai people like to put a lot of herbs in our foods,” chef and owner of Chabaar Anny Sooksri explains. “Because of the spiciness, you need a lot of herbs to balance it—first for the flavor and then for health benefits.”
An entire compendium documents the health properties of Thai herbs and my experience says it doesn’t hurt me any!
Pho at Oh Mai Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen and La Cai Noodle House
Pho is always a favorite during the cold winter months and Salt Lake has no shortage of pho restaurants in its midst—each with an individual attraction for customers. I enjoy Oh Mai Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen’s P5 for their earthy, beef-bone broth spiced with star anise, clove and cardamom. With multiple locations around the valley, it’s also easy to find whenever I’m craving it. When I’m downtown, you’ll find me at La Cai Noodle House that offers the freshest and most extensive vegetable add-ins such as crunchy carrots, fresh peas, cabbage and broccoli.
So whether you are just chilled to the bone or down with the sniffles, try these soul-satisfying soups this winter. And here’s to your health!
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