Soups and One-Bowl Meals

People in tropical Asia usually don’t drink water with their meals. They say it merely fills you up and makes you feel bloated. On the other hand, warm soup (soups are rarely served cold or chilled) makes you feel comfortable inside and helps digestion, so even at a big meal with many dishes there is always soup, usually a clear broth, on the table. The same broth, with rice or noodles added, will make a simple one-bowl meal, nourishing and comforting. Of course, anyone who is ill is given clear soup with rice in it and soon gets better. There is a gastronomic side to all this, however, and one bowl can offer a basinful of flavour, as you’ll see.