Value your body

Did you know that records of the first types of soups dated back to 6,000 BC? And that the main ingredient was the hippopotamus? Yeah.. it’s unimaginable but it’s true. Every culture in the world have their own types of soup. Some are thick, some are thin, some are spicy, some are taken with a side dish like bread. Below are soups drank by the world over.

Ajiaco

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From Colombia, you have the Ajiaco, which ingredients typically include chicken, corn, at least two kinds of potatoes, sour cream, capers, avocado, and guasca.

Avgolemono

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Avgolemono in Greece means egg-lemon. This soup contains chicken, lemon and egg as it’s main ingredient.

Borscht

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The strong red coloured vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that includes beet roots as it’s main.

Bouillabaisse

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Bouillabaisse, originating all the way from the city of Marseille of France, is usually a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish which usually are complemented with garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron.

Caldo verde

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From the province of Minho, Northern Portugal comes this soup made of mashed potatoes, minced collard greens, savoy cabbage, kale, onions and slices of chorizo.

Callaloo

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The thick, creamy soup made with okra and crab meat from Trinidad and Tobago

Chlodnik

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A cold variety of borsch — beetroot soup traditional to some Northern European and Slavic countries made with sour cream, soured milk, kefir or yoghurt, radishes or cucumbers, garnished with dill or parsley.

Cock-a-leekie

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From Scotland, the soup dish of leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and sometimes with a hint of prunes.

Cullen Skink

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From the town of Cullen in Moray, on the north-east coast of Scotland comes the soup that is often served as a starter at formal Scottish dinners. Always thick with smoked Finnan haddock, potatoes and onions as its ingredients.

Egg Drop

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A Chinese soup of beaten eggs, chicken broth, and boiled water. Condiments such as table salt, black pepper, and green onion are also commonly added.

Erwtensoep

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A thick pea soup, eaten in the Netherlands as a winter dish, traditionally served with sliced sausage.

Faki soupa

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Lentils as it’s main, this Greek soup is both healthy and filling. It has since been made popular in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Others include onions, carrots, olive oil, parsley and possibly tomato sauce or vinegar.

Fanesca

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Traditional to Ecuador, Fanesca is usually served the week before easter and typically includes figleaf gourd, pumpkin, and twelve different kinds of grains (representing the disciples of Jesus), and salt cod (due to the belief that you must not eat red meat during these days).

Fasolada

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Sometimes referred to as the ‘national food of the Greeks’. Fasolada is a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.

French Onion Soup

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An onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings.

Fufu and Egusi

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From Ghana, Fufu and Egusi soup is made with vegetables, meat, fish, and balls of wheat gluten.

Gazpacho

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Hailing from Spain, this vegetable soup is popular in warmer areas and during the summer, particularly in Spain’s Andalusia and Portugal’s Alentejo and Algarve regions. Gazpacho is a concoction of bread, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar.

Ginataan



A dessert soup from the Philippines whose name is derived from the Filipino word for coconut milk, ‘gata’, the main ingredient in the soup.

Photo by riacale

Ginseng

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A very popular type of health soup found in Chinese & Korean communities made out of Ginseng roots. Chicken and other herbs and spices are often added to it.

Goulash

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The Hungarian spicy dish, made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika powder. Goulash draws its name from the Hungarian word for a cattle stockman / herdsman.

Gumbo

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Originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions.

Kimchi jigae

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A variety of jjigae or stew-like Korean dish made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood, although pork and seafood are generally not used in the same recipe.

Menudo

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A traditional Mexican soup largely made out of tripe and hominy. It is considered by some as a cure for hangovers.

Minestrone

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From Italy comes this vegetarian soup, made thick with the addition of pasta or rice. Beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes are commonly added to it.

Miso soup

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Japan’s most famous soup made from fish broth, fermented soy and ‘dashi’.

Mulligatawny Soup

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An Anglo-Indian curried soup which means ‘pepper water’ in Tamil.

Iskembe Corbasi

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A type of tripe soup often seasoned with vinegar or lemon juice, prepared in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.

Pho

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The Vietnamese beef/chicken soup cooked with scallion, welsh onion, cherred ginger, wild coriander, basil, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black cardamom.

Pozole



A pre-Columbian soup made from hominy, with pork, chile, and other seasonings and garnish, such as cabbage, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, avocado, radish, lime juice.

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Scotch Broth

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A filling soup from Scotland which principal ingredients are usually barley, a cut of beef or lamb, carrots, turnips or swedes, cabbage and leeks.

Shark Fin

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A Chinese delicacy commonly served as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige.

Shchav

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A sorrel soup in Polish, Russian and Yiddish cuisines made from water, sorrel leaves, salt and egg yolks which is often served cold with sour cream.

Solyanka

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Cabbage soup from Russia made of mainly three different kinds of main ingredient being either meat, fish or mushrooms. All of them contain pickled cucumbers with brine, and often cabbage, salty mushrooms, cream and dill.

Sopa Negra

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Black bean soup Costa Rican style made of black beans, chicken broth, eggs, fresh cilantro, onions, garlic and sweet pepper.

Sour Soup



A Vietnamese dish made with rice, fish, various vegetables, and in some cases pineapple.

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Tarator

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A cold soup popular in the summertime in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water.

Tom Kha Gai

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Made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass and chicken. The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.

Tom Yam

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One of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine known for its distinct hot and sour flavours made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chillis.

Torpedo

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Found commonly in parts of Malaysia especially Penang, Sup Torpedo is a type of exotic soup that includes the penis of a bull as the main ingredient. It is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.

Trahana

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Dried foods based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, usually consumed as soup found in Turkey, Greece, Egypt and Iraq. The Turkish tarhana consists of cracked wheat, yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried. The Greek trahana contains only cracked wheat and yoghurt.

Vichyssoise

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A French style soup made of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock traditionally served cold.

Waterzooi

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Means “watery mess’ in Dutch. Made of fish or chicken, carrots, leeks and potatoes, herbs, eggs, cream and butter.

Zurek

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A soup made from soured rye flour and meat, which is specific to Poland and other northern Slavonic nations such as Slovakia.

PS : Tell me, did I miss anyone’s favourite?