In the heart of China’s Central Plains, morning begins not with the crow of a rooster, but with the sizzle of a ladle dipping into a giant cauldron of bubbling, aromatic soup. For millions of people across Henan Province – and increasingly, across the world – the day doesn’t truly start until they’ve had a bowl of hulatang (胡辣汤). Often translated as “pepper spicy soup” or “spicy hot soup,” this humble breakfast staple is so deeply woven into the region’s identity that locals joke: “It’s not the alarm clock that wakes us up – it’s hulatang”.
What Exactly Is Hulatang?
At first glance, hulatang looks like a thick, dark, unassuming porridge. But beneath that humble surface lies a complex symphony of flavours. The soup is made from a rich beef or mutton bone broth, slowly simmered for hours until it becomes deeply savoury. Into this broth go wheat gluten, vermicelli noodles, dried bean curd sheets, wood ear mushrooms, daylily flowers, peanuts, and chunks of tender meat. The soup is thickened with wheat starch, giving it a velvety, almost gravy-like consistency.
The real magic, however, lies in the spices. A traditional hulatang recipe calls for over 20 different spices and medicinal herbs, including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, amomum fruit, dried tangerine peel, and – most importantly – black pepper. The pepper, which gives the soup its signature fiery kick, was introduced to China from Southeast Asia via the Silk Road during the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). Before that, hulatang as we know it simply couldn’t exist.
The result is a bowl that is thick, savoury, spicy, and deeply warming – the kind of food that makes you break out in a sweat, clears your sinuses, and leaves you feeling invigorated for the day ahead.
The Many Tales of How It All Began
Like most ancient dishes, hulatang’s exact origins are shrouded in legend and debate. What is certain is that its history is at least several centuries old, with roots stretching back to the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD) or earlier.
One of the most popular legends dates to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). According to the tale, the powerful and corrupt official Yan Song (严嵩), who served as Grand Secretary to the Jiajing Emperor, was desperate to please his sovereign. He obtained a secret medicinal formula from a Buddhist monk or Daoist priest – a blend of over 20 herbs and spices said to promote longevity. The formula was prepared as a soup and presented to the emperor, who was so delighted by its flavour and invigorating effects that he named it “Imperial Soup” and had the recipe enshrined in the palace kitchens.
When the Ming dynasty collapsed in 1644, a palace chef carrying this secret recipe fled the capital and eventually found refuge in Xiaoyao Town (逍遥镇), in what is now Xihua County, Henan Province. There, he passed the formula to the local people, who adapted it into the hulatang we know today.
Another charming legend connects hulatang to the famous Ming dynasty official Yu Qian (于谦), a man celebrated for his integrity and his poem Song of the Lime. The story goes that Yu Qian, while serving as governor of Henan and Shanxi provinces, was once travelling through Zhengzhou on his birthday. Ever the frugal man, he marked the occasion by stopping at a small eatery run by a man surnamed Hu, where he ordered a bowl of spicy soup. The soup was so memorable that years later, when Yu Qian fell ill with a cold, he sent for a bowl from the same shop. The soup made him sweat profusely – and by the next morning, his cold was gone. Grateful, he offered the shopkeeper ten taels of silver and suggested that the soup be named after the Hu family. And so, hutang – “Hu’s soup” – became hulatang.
There is also a more grounded, less romantic origin story. Historians believe that hulatang evolved from the sour and spicy soups and meat porridges that were popular in the Song dynasty, when adding warming medicinal herbs to food was a fashionable way to promote health. Some even trace it to the hard-working boatmen along the Sha River (沙河), who needed a hearty, warming breakfast to protect them from the cold and damp of life on the water.
Two Rivers, Two Rival Schools
Today, hulatang is produced in countless regional variations across Henan and beyond. But the most famous rivalry is between two towns along the Sha River: Xiaoyao Town in Xihua County, Zhoukou, and Beiwudu Town in Wuyang County, Luohe.
- Xiaoyao Town (逍遥镇) hulatang is bold, fiery, and unapologetically intense. It is made with a beef bone broth and packed with ingredients like black fungus, daylily flowers, and peanuts. The pepper is front and centre, giving the soup a sharp, tingling heat that makes your forehead bead with sweat. The broth is dark, thick, and rich. This is the style that has become most famous nationwide; in 2021, the Xiaoyao hulatang making technique was inscribed on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
- Beiwudu Town (北舞渡镇) hulatang, by contrast, is more restrained and refined. It is built on a lamb bone broth, giving it a milder, more savoury base. The spices are still present, but they’re more balanced – the heat is subtler, and the flavour of the meat and broth takes centre stage. Some say Beiwudu hulatang has a medicinal, herbal fragrance that lingers on the palate, and the soup itself is slightly thinner and lighter in colour than its Xiaoyao counterpart. It’s often finished with a sprinkle of fresh spring onions.
Locals sum up the difference this way: Xiaoyao is about the kick; Beiwudu is about the comfort.
A World of Variations
Beyond these two heavyweights, hulatang has branched out into a dizzying array of regional styles. Here are just a few:
- Kaifeng Vegetarian Hulatang (开封素胡辣汤): Made without meat, this version relies on gluten, daylily flowers, and a lighter, clearer broth.
- Xinyang Hulatang (信阳胡辣汤): Features mung bean vermicelli for a different texture.
- Nanyang Hulatang (南阳胡辣汤): Uses a beef broth base and adds daylily flowers; the soup is notably dark in colour.
- Ruzhou Hulatang (汝州胡辣汤): Served in a unique bamboo container shaped like a waist drum.
- Lushan Hulatang (鲁山胡辣汤): A lighter, vegetarian-style soup with tofu strips, sweet potato starch sheets, and fried dough pieces.
- Shanxi Style (陕西胡辣汤): A completely different beast – this version uses beef meatballs instead of shredded meat, and includes potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, thickened with potato starch rather than wheat starch.
- Shandong Style (山东胡辣汤): Found in cities like Heze and Jining, this is a simpler, more rustic version – closer to a savoury porridge.
How to Eat It – The Henan Way
Hulatang is almost always enjoyed as breakfast, and it’s rarely eaten alone. The classic combo is a bowl of hulatang with fried dough sticks (油条), fried buns (油馍头), pan-fried buns (水煎包), or sesame flatbreads (烧饼). The bread is dipped into the thick, spicy soup, soaking up all that savoury goodness.
For those who find the heat too intense, there’s a beloved workaround: “two-mix” (两掺) – half hulatang, half silken tofu pudding (豆腐脑, doufunao). The cool, creamy tofu tames the spice while adding a new dimension of texture.
And no bowl is complete without a few final touches: a generous drizzle of sesame oil, a splash of vinegar to brighten the flavours, and perhaps a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
A Bowl of History, A Taste of Home
For the people of Henan, hulatang is more than just breakfast – it’s a taste of home, a connection to their roots, and a symbol of the region’s resilience and warmth. Whether you’re sipping it from a rustic clay bowl in a tiny street-side stall or from a takeaway cup on a busy city street, every spoonful carries centuries of history, legend, and the unmistakable spirit of the Central Plains.
As the locals say: “A bowl of hulatang in the morning – and you’re ready for anything.”
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