the 'food' in my soup?

Sometimes, we prefer to have more of this and less of that, say, when we are choosing our dishes. We may make requests such as 'Can I have more sauce with that chicken please or I'd like to have more garnishing [or should it be garnish?] please'

I was tongue-tied this morning because I was not able to think of some good expressions to describe the fact that I prefer more 'solid stuff' in the soup. What's the word to refer to all the solid stuff? Filling? If I just want more liquid, I can say more soup please but what about the veggies, meat, pastas etc in, say, a Borscht/minestrone soup? Thanks a lot

not a teacher

I consider the veggies/meat/pasta etc to be part of the soup, so saying "More soup please" doesn't mean just the liquid.
If I wanted more of the bits and pieces, so to speak, I would probably be quite specific. "Can I please have more (of the) veggies/meat/noodles?".

Who are you asking, Tedwonny — a server in a café or the person who cooks your meals at home?

In a café the soup is prepared in a huge bowl and if you want more bits somebody later is not going to get as many, so the cook is probably going to take a dim view of your request.

Come to think of it, the same applies at home. I'd say 'This soup is delicious, darling; perhaps next time you make it you could put more chunks of meat and veg in it.'

Is it correct to say "solid ingredients in soup"?

Matthew Wai said:

Is it correct to say "solid ingredients in soup"?

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It's not natural English.

Tedwonny said:

Sometimes, we prefer to have more of this and less of that, say, when we are choosing our dishes. We may make requests such as 'Can I have more sauce with that chicken please or I'd like to have more garnishing [or should it be garnish?] please'

I was tongue-tied this morning because I was not able to think of some good expressions to describe the fact that I prefer more 'solid stuff' in the soup. What's the word to refer to all the solid stuff? Filling? If I just want more liquid, I can say more soup please but what about the veggies, meat, pastas etc in, say, a Borscht/minestrone soup? Thanks a lot

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It is a bit insulting to ask for more "food" in your soup. The soup is "food' by definition. You may prefer thicker soup, but I don't think I would mention it.

In my nation, whether a surcharge will be incurred counts more than whether it is insulting.

Matthew Wai said:

In my nation, whether a surcharge will be incurred counts more than whether it is insulting.

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A surcharge from whom? And what does that have to do with this thread?

Sorry for having departed from this thread, I will shut up.

MikeNewYork said:

A surcharge from whom? And what does that have to do with this thread?

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I imagine he meant that if you ask for more noodles and meat and less broth in your chicken noodle soup, the restaurant would charge you more.

Sounds fair to me.

SoothingDave said:

I imagine he meant that if you ask for more noodles and meat and less broth in your chicken noodle soup, the restaurant would charge you more.

Sounds fair to me.

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Possibly, but unusual -- at least here.

Tedwonny said:

Sometimes, we prefer to have more of this and less of that, say, when we are choosing our dishes. We may make requests such as 'Can I have more sauce with that chicken please or I'd like to have more garnishing [or should it be garnish?] please'

I was tongue-tied this morning because I was not able to think of some good expressions to describe the fact that I prefer more 'solid stuff' in the soup. What's the word to refer to all the solid stuff? Filling? If I just want more liquid, I can say more soup please but what about the veggies, meat, pastas etc in, say, a Borscht/minestrone soup? Thanks a lot

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It's an interesting question. I can't think of a word, but that may be because of the style of soups we tend to eat here.

SoothingDave said:

I imagine he meant that if you ask for more noodles and meat and less broth in your chicken noodle soup, the restaurant would charge you more.

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Yes, I meant so, but it had nothing to do with this thread.

Thank you all for your replies

I guess it all boils down to the cultural differences between the east and the west. It is generally not considered as 'insulting' at all when you want more 'solid bits' in a Chinese soup in Chinese restaurants. It's hard to explain in detail here but soups from the east tend to be quite thin more often than not and if you don't make such a request [usually viewed as greedy yet acceptable], you'll merely get a bowl of thin broth. Therefore, it is very common for us to ask for more of these 'solid bits' [in Chinese, we actually call these 'residue of the soup'] and it is intriguing to learn that there's no corresponding translation in English.

Thanks for all your sharing

Happy 2014

Tedwonny said:

[in Chinese, we actually call these 'residue of the soup']

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Should they be called "soup remains" in English?

Tedwonny said:

...soups from the east tend to be quite thin

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Speaking as a native Chinese, I don't feel Chinese soup is thin, and I have never asked for more solid ingredients in it.

Matthew Wai said:

Should they be called "soup remains" in English?

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No. We have no natural expression for 'the solid bits'.

If someone gave me a bowl of soup and there were solid bits in but I couldn't recognise them, I would simply have to ask "What are the bits?" There is no other word for them.