Guangzhou soup is an indispensable part of local residents' dining tables, and has developed into a culture with distinctive features.

Slow-cooked soup, or lo foh tong (老火汤) in the Cantonese dialect, is usually a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients over low heat for as long as four hours.

The cuisine uses a wide variety of ingredients, including Chinese herbs or herbal medicines. Many Cantonese people believe that soup plays a role in clearing heat, nourishing beauty, strengthening physical health, and preventing and curing diseases.

Guangzhou residents believe that soup plays a role in clearing heat, nourishing beauty and curing illness. [Photo/ visitgz.com]

There's a popular saying among local people: "The Cantonese would rather drink soup than eat rice." Soup is a beverage, a tonic and a source of nourishment, as well as a natural medicine that also tastes delicious.

Drinking soup is used as dietetic therapy in Cantonese cuisine. For example, someone with a cold can get better more quickly by having a soup made with ginger, green onions, green beans and tofu.

Cantonese soup uses a wide variety of ingredients, including fruits, Chinese herbs or medicine and thus is rich in content. [Photo/dayoo.com]

The traditional Cantonese wife must learn the art of cooking a good soup because it is crucial to make a good soup when entertaining friends and family members. Even with the quickening tempo of modern life, office ladies should still learn how to make several soup courses, searching for recipes on TV, in newspapers and online.

In the eyes of some outsiders, the Cantonese people seem to like soup too much. In fact, their passion for soup is deeply rooted in Cantonese culture and history.