Hearty Dishes to Warm You up This Winter, and Where to Find Them

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As we've previously written about, followers of traditional Chinese medicine believe that you should adjust your diet according to the seasons. Whether you believe this or not, when it's freezing outside, it just makes sense to gorge on foods that warm you from the inside-out. These four winter elixirs will help you stay strong as the howling Siberian winds attempt to destroy what little willpower you have left to leave the house over the next three months, and they are available all over the city.

Most of the restaurants below have multiple locations across Beijing so we've listed the most central outlet.

PorridgeWe're certainly fans of stodgy winter fare, but let's start our list with something light and healthy. Traditional porridge dishes, especially Chaoshan-style casserole porridge (潮汕砂锅粥 cháoshàn shāguō zhōu) has become very popular among the young generation in recent years. This extra gooey dish - which is commonly known in the west by its Cantonese name 'congee' -  is a perfect cold-weather treat. The basic dish is simply white rice porrige but if you're making it yourself at home, feel free to be as creative and adventurous as you want to elevate the plain white rice to mouth-watering casserole porridge with dried fruits, meat, ginger, and more. Set the pot on the stove before you head out for work and enjoy this comforting meal that can warm your hands, stomach, and heart after coming back home from a long day of work. Up here in the north, where rice is scarce, it's more common to find porridge dishes made from red beans, cornmeal, millet, barley, and sorghum.Where to get itNan Quan Shi San Yi Casserole Porridge (Xizhimen Capitalland Mall)
3/F, 1 Xizhimen Outer St, Xicheng District (5830 2527)
南拳十三姨潮汕砂锅粥（西直门凯德店），西直门外大街1号凯德Mall三层

Huo Qi Casserole Porridge (U-Town Mall)
B1, 2 Sanfeng Beili, Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (6553 7601)
火齐潮汕砂锅粥（悠唐店），朝外南街悠唐购物中心B1

Noodle soup

Once again, a lack of rice paddies up here in the north works in our favor: endless bowls of warm noodle soup on days that you can literally see your breath! Whether it is the cheap instant noodle or something as fancy as wagyu beef ramen in lobster matsutake broth, the moment that warm soup goes down your throat, you can feel its heat spreading through your veins and defrosts you from the inside out. There are more noodle shops in Beijing than you can poke a stick at, but here are some of our favorite... 

Where to get it

Hefu Noodle
B1, 19 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District (139 1545 6375)
和府捞面（新中关店），中关村大街19号新中关大厦新中关购物中心B1

Hakata Ikkōsha
15, 131 Xidan North Street, Xidan, Xicheng District (6608 6601)
博多一幸舍（西单大悦城店），西单北大街131号大悦城7楼15号

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Ginseng chicken soup

This famous dish is well known in the TCM world for its supposed therapeutic benefits, which include boosting energy, strengthening the immune system, and regulating blood sugar levels, among others. The soup is based on chicken broth with assorted herbs such as jujube, ginger, goji berry and of course ginseng, which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It is often given to new mothers after they have given birth, the elderly, and patients recovering from surgery, however, TCM practitioners do advise against eating it when you have the flu, or during an infection as it stimulates qi and inner heat. 

Where to get it

Huizuo Samgye-tang
209 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (5602 5999)
辉佐参鸡汤（朝阳门店），朝阳门外大街209号

Liu Jie Jia Samgye-tang
9 Guanghe Nanli 2nd Alley, Chaoyang District (131 2479 9977)
刘姐家延寿参鸡汤，朝阳区劲松路广和南里二条9号一层东侧Hot PotNothing can beat hotpot during wintertime. Just looking at the boiling red soup is enough to warm you up, and actually eating it is a workout: all the running around to refill your dipping sauce at the DIY sauce station is some serious cardio and lifting the delicate thin sliced meat up and down in the soup should be considered weight-lifting. Moreover, hotpot is all about socializing, and what else can warm your heart better than sharing a steaming hot pot with a bunch of close friends?Where to get itXiao Long Kan Lao Huo Guo
2-2 Workers' Stadium East Road, Chaoyang District (87771699)
小龙坎老火锅（工体店），工体东路乙2号Izu Village
B1, Kerry Center, 1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District (65003635)
伊豆野菜村（嘉里中心店），朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心B1

Images courtesy of venues, dianping.com

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