This belly-warming soup is popular home-style throughout most of China’s urban centres, especially in the south of the country. Th main stars of this soup is the tomato, which is a relatively new ingredient in Chinese cuisine. This recipe pairs the savoury potential of tomatoes with Chinese aromatics, and with that being said, this is a surprisingly simple recipe that won’t send you off to a Chinese supermarket. You will find all of these aromatics - light soy, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine - in any regular supermarket nowadays. As for the meat, you could use a thinly sliced rump steak, which I recommend freezing for 20 minutes before slicing to help you get the thin strips. If you don’t mind a trip to a Chinese supermarket however, I highly recommend the thinly sliced beef rolls they sell in the freezer, typically used for Chinese hotpot. These frozen beef slices can be added to the soup at the end and make angelic shreds of tender meat in the soup. Feel free to flood this over noodles, but it’s honestly just great on its own as a light, nourishing bowl. Let’s go!
