Hu La Tang (Spiced Pepper Soup)

Hu la tang is Henan's most famous breakfast soup: thick and glossy, sharply peppery, and loaded with ingredients such as beef, wheat gluten, vermicelli and wood-ear mushroom — spicy, savory and warming.

A hallmark of Central Plains breakfast culture, hu la tang has long been popular across Henan. Its pepper-driven heat and thickened body reflect a northern habit of starting cold mornings with a hot, rousing soup.

It is usually drunk piping hot for breakfast, paired with fried dough sticks, pan-fried buns or sesame flatbread; some mix it half-and-half with tofu pudding (liang chan) — the Henan way to begin the day.

Its character is the weave of peppery heat and a thickened, clingy body — pungent and full on the palate, lingering on the finish, and so warming that a single bowl is the perfect introduction to Henan's taste.