A Romanian chicken sour soup, or ciorba, touted as a cure for a hangover, has won a place in a culinary publication as one of the tastiest soups in the world.
Based on reviews ciorba radauteana was ranked as the 14th best soup in the world in a list of 100 put together by Taste Atlas.
The tasty broth which originates in Radauti in northern Romania near the border with Ukraine notched up a score of 4.6 out of 5.
“Ciorba Radauteana is a traditional Romanian soup. It’s made with a combination of chicken, onions, sweet red pepper, celery, carrots, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and sour cream. The ingredients are simmered over medium heat until the meat and the vegetables become tender. The soup is quite sour due to the addition of lemon juice,” the website said.
“In Romania, ciorba radauteana is especially prized for being a hangover cure and having healing properties – it’s often used as a remedy for common cold symptoms,” the website says in the description of the soup.
Japanese tonkotsu ramen took the top spot followed by Polish soup Zurek and Mercimek çorbası, a popular dish in Turkey eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. France’s famous soupe a l’oignon only manged to grab the 40th spot.
The rankings are updated every month.
Romanian cuisine is blessed with a variety of ciorbas, from tripe ciorba (not to everyone’s taste) to meatball ciorba. The word originates from the Turkish word çorba, which itself is a loan from Persia. Ciorbas are eaten in southeast Europe, Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East.
Unlike plain soups, ciorbas are traditionally hearty and have a sour tang— either by the addition of borscht or lemon juice.
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