The best winter stews

#23 beef belly flat-noodle “soup” at Grand Bo Ky
This Chinese-Vietnamese noodle spot refers to this massive bowl of wide rice noodles as soup, but it’s really a simple stew: spiced with curry powder and thick with chunks of beef and carrots. Be sure to top it off with the house-made chili sauce. 214 Grand St between Elizabeth and Mott Sts (212-219-9228). $5.

Ribollita at Hearth
Tuscans discovered long ago that soup could be cooked down with bread and beans and transformed into something even more satisfying: vegetable stew. At Hearth, the ribollita includes black kale, croutons and bean puree. 403 E 12th St at First Ave (646-602-1300). $10.

Oxtail stew at the Islands
Oxtails don’t look particularly meaty, but they give up super-rich flavor when cooked for a long time. Sample them in this classic Caribbean dish. 803 Washington Ave between Lincoln Pl and Eastern Pkwy, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718-398-3575). $12.

Budae jungol at Seoul Garden
This Korean casserole boasts a tangy beef broth loaded with kimchi, noodles, rice cake, beef and—wait for it—Spam. 34 W 32nd St between Fifth Ave and Broadway, second floor (212-736-9002). $35.95.

Cassoulet Toulousain de la Maison at La Sirene
Creamy cannellini beans come with tender duck confit, garlicky pork sausage and thick bacon in this exemplary version of Southern France’s cold-weather staple. All of it’s basted with duck fat and topped with bread crumbs for some crunch. 558 Broome St between Sixth Ave and Varick St (212-925-3061). $31.50.

Beef goulash at Cafe Katja
The Austrian-style beef dish at Cafe Katja is slow-cooking incarnate: Meat and onions are stewed with stock for four hours, then made aromatic with spicy paprika, marjoram and a bit of lemon zest. You like gravy? So does that side of buttered spaetzle. 79 Orchard St between Broome and Grand Sts (212-219-9545). $17.

Gumbo at the Green Table
This frequent special is the only NYC gumbo we can get behind. NOLA transplant Brent Sims knows his way around a roux, plus he cooks with what’s in season. This time of year, that means a bowl packed with house-made sausage and chicken or roasted duck. Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave at 16th St (212-741-6623). $18.

Yose hot pot at Matsuri
Chef Tadashi Ono’s special menu of homestyle hot pots includes this steaming version known as yose: a sweet-smoky dashi broth piled high with head-on shrimp, sliced snapper, chicken, clams, tofu, noodles and a forest floor’s worth of shiitake and enoki mushrooms. Maritime Hotel, 369 W 16th St at Ninth Ave (212-243-6400). $27.

Special Yemeni fateh with lamb at Yemen Caf
This filling stew is Yemen’s answer to chicken and dumplings: savory lamb gravy studded with strips of flatbread. Bring a friend—it’s big enough for two. 176 Atlantic Ave between Clinton and Court Sts, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718-834-9533). $16.

Pork and preserved-egg congee at Congee
Rice cooked in water doesn’t sound exciting, but this porridge has a clean taste and velvety texture. The pork and preserved egg make it funky enough to entice your taste buds. 98 Bowery between Grand and Hester Sts (212-965-5028). $3.75.

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