At the table
Use a spoon to taste a small amount of the thick soup and let it cool. Take manageable bites of meat, lotus root and yam. If pickled chives come alongside, try a little before adding more.
Contains mutton and wheat flour, and uses yellow wine, wine lees, galangal and astragalus. Check the full ingredients if you have allergies or avoid alcohol or particular herbs. Thick soup can stay hot; take small spoonfuls and cut large pieces before eating.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Wheat flour may be steamed before use; galangal and astragalus season the mutton, and pickled chives may accompany the soup.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Savory, herbal and wine-aromatic
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Thick soup with meat and root vegetables.
- How it’s made
- Thicken mutton broth with prepared wheat flour and yellow wine; serve with cooked mutton, lotus root and Chinese yam.
Wheat flour may be steamed before use; galangal and astragalus season the mutton, and pickled chives may accompany the soup.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Shanxi.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有太原头脑吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
The Eight-Treasure tale
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
A local tradition tells of scholar and physician Fu Shan making an Eight-Treasure soup for his mother and passing it to Qingheyuan. That tale is part of the bowl’s cultural history. At the table, tounao is a pale, thick soup: wheat flour gives body to mutton broth, while wine, wine lees, galangal and astragalus contribute aroma. Lotus root and Chinese yam provide contrasting pieces; pickled chives may be served alongside.