Recently, a heavy snowfall quietly came from north to south, and the Central Plains was covered in snow. The sudden cold weather makes people can't help but want to eat some warm, a bowl of mutton soup, which turns into fireworks in the world under the heavy snow, soothing the mortal dust in the world.
After the snow "Ink Zhengzhou" photo by Li Chongyang.
oneIn the evening, the door of the sheep soup shop is shining, and the red and green signs look gentle and homely under the shroud of a mist. The cotton curtain that blocks the wind is like a barrier, isolating the cold and humid air outside, and also isolating the noise and laughter in the store. Lifting the curtain and entering, the glasses were instantly filled with mist, blocking the vision, the sense of smell became extremely sensitive, and the aroma of mutton came to the face, which warmed people's hearts instantly. "Mutton soup, a pot helmet, do you have mutton fat spicy?"Here's your receipt, take the soup at the window, and the spicy food is on the table. A few extremely short sentences of dialogue filled the expectations of diners. 
The mutton broth in the pot kept tumbling.
The soup pot with an arm's length in diameter is the foundation of a mutton soup shop. A professional soup shop, the soup pot rarely has a break, and from morning to night, the milky white soup swells up and down, exuding the unique aroma of animal fat. Serving soup is a technical job, and you need to "wake up the meat" first. Mutton soup can be divided into two categories: mutton soup and haggis soup, but either way, you need to boil the lamb or haggis with a piping hot soup first. I saw the big spoon of soup pour the mutton soup into the bowl, just a few seconds, the big spoon buckled on the mouth of the bowl, tilted the bowl 45 degrees, and the soup was poured into the pot. 
Lingbao mutton soup Source: Lingbao Cultural Tourism.
The soup chef's set of actions is smooth, and the mutton and haggis moistened by the hot soup seem to have a second life, and the solid oil that was originally attached to the ingredients due to low temperature gradually melts, revealing the true color of mutton and haggis. Immediately after, a spoonful of hot soup from top to bottom, a pinch of coriander is gently put down, and you go!
Luoyang mutton soup Source: Luobao Group.
Diners carefully hold the soup bowl to the table with both hands, and take a spoonful of lamb fat and spicy seeds, and the red and green colors are evenly intertwined on the surface of the soup. The mutton is fragrant and soft, the haggis is rich in taste, the moment you drink the soup, the hot soup flows downstream, the appetite is satisfied, and the sense of happiness arises spontaneously. An exchange of "desires" is complete. II. II. IISheep soup was called "yokan" in ancient times, and it was once the exclusive property of nobles. During the Zhou Dynasty, mutton was listed as one of the "Eight Treasures", and it was recorded in the Book of Rites and the Imperial System, "The princes did not kill cattle for no reason, the doctors did not kill sheep for no reason, the scholars did not kill dogs and pigs for no reason, and the people did not eat treasures for no reason." "Not to mention ordinary people, even aristocratic scholars and doctors are not able to eat mutton and drink mutton soup every day. In history, there have even been stories of people dying because of a bowl of mutton soup. The "Warring States Policy" compiled by the Western Han Dynasty writer Liu Xiang recorded a story of "Zhongshan Junfang Dushi". Zhongshan was a small country during the Warring States Period, and once, its monarch invited all the doctors to a banquet and distributed sheep soup to everyone. Unexpectedly, when it was Sima Zi's turn, there was not enough sheep soup, so he didn't give it to him. Sima Ziqi felt that this was because the monarch had an opinion about him and deliberately embarrassed him, so he held a grudge and fled the Chu State in anger, and lobbied the monarch of the Chu State to attack Zhongshan, which eventually led to the collapse of the Zhongshan State. This shows the deliciousness and preciousness of the mutton soup. 
Source: Visual China.
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Sheep soup is the most common and widest soup in Henan. There are many places in Henan that love to drink mutton soup, and the mutton soup in each place has its own uniqueness. "Drink soup?It is the most common greeting in Luoyang, and for the city of Luoyang, soup is the existence of the soul. Among its mature soup culture, beef soup and mutton soup are the most representative. According to legend, Luoyang's mutton soup began in the middle of the Tang Dynasty and was originally a dish at court banquets, which was extremely delicious and spread among the people over time. In addition, in addition to mutton and haggis, Luoyang people also like to put sheep blood in the soup, with local unique cake shreds, which warms the stomachs of countless Luoyang people. 
Luoyang mutton soup Source: Luobao Group.
Secondly, Kaifeng is also a major consumer of mutton soup. Different from Luoyang, the standard configuration of Kaifeng sheep soup is a pot helmet, a pot helmet and a mouthful of soup, or, directly break the pot helmet and soak it in the soup, sometimes with 2 taels of wine, so as to start a good time of the day. However, Kaifeng's mutton soup is not limited to mutton and haggis, and extension products based on mutton soup such as four-flavor vegetables and mutton double intestines have become local specialties. The four-flavor dish is stewed on the basis of mutton soup with crispy meat, beef meatballs, gluten, and daylilySheep double intestine is the soup made of the large intestine and small intestine of the sheep, the soup is milky white, full of dirty gas, drink the soup pay attention to hurry up early and not late, but the sheep double intestine soup is an exception, the best time to drink the soup is between ten and twelve o'clock, go early, the soup is still clear, go late, close the stall. 
Kaifeng mutton soup Source: Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio and Tourism.
Nanyang's mutton soup is also unique. Nanyang's mutton soup is clear soup, which is in line with the style of local beef soup. Nanyang people drink soup either with fire, or soak old Beijing instant noodles in the soup. The soup is full of coriander, fried green onions until golden brown, and a pinch of shredded ginger, the main one is delicious!
Nanyang mutton soup.
In Lingbao, mutton soup is also known as "Lingbao No. 1 Soup", and almost every Lingbao person has their exclusive memory of drinking soup. Lingbao mutton soup pays attention to "one bowl and one stew", first boil the soup in a large pot, wait for the soup to boil, and then stew one by one in a small pot as needed. Put mutton, mutton blood, vermicelli in a small pot, accompanied by salt, garlic, ginger and garlic, and coriander, which makes people drink thick and fragrant, and make people have a long aftertaste. 
Lingbao mutton soup Source: Lingbao Cultural Tourism Xuchang Yuzhou is popular with three kinds of mutton soup, one is the more common method of making the soup after "waking up the meat", the other is the boiled pot mutton soup represented by the mutton soup of Zhangdi, and the other is the stewed mutton soup represented by the mutton soup of Huashi. Slice the fresh mutton, stir-fry in the iron pot, wait for the mutton to change color, the fragrance comes out, cook the boiled mutton soup, wait for the soup to boil, add salt seasoning, and finally the green onion and coriander are seasoned and out of the pot. The soup is fresh and delicious, and the flavor is rich, which brings great satisfaction. Huashi mutton soup is rich in ingredients. First, the mutton and mutton bones are boiled in a large pot, and then, the cooked mutton is taken out and hung up for later useSubsequently, spices, flour skin, fungus, daylily, green onions and salt are added to the original mutton soup, and then sliced into the boiled muttonWhen it is about to come out of the pot, a spoonful of mutton fat spicy is the finishing touch, which instantly gives the soup a soul, and the spicy is fragrant but not spicy, adding a rich dry flavor to the mutton soup. The powder skin is smooth, the daylily is crisp and tender, the mutton is soft and fragrant, and a bowl of Huashi mutton soup is eaten to ensure that the person is warm from head to toe.
Huashi mutton soup Source: Dahe.com.
In addition, there are many delicacies related to mutton soup in Henan, such as haggis in Ruzhou, tofu dishes in Jiaxian, and braised noodles in Zhengzhou, all of which are based on a bowl of mutton soup. For thousands of years, mutton soup has been recognized by generations for its affordability and warmth. The softness of the mutton and the richness of the mutton fat led countless gourmets to bend their waists, and in the fierce battle of appetite and body anxiety, in the end, the mutton soup won.
Which one do you love the most of these mutton soups in Henan?What kind of soup do you like to drink in winter?Come to the comment section and chat together.
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