hot soup
羮 centers on a rich, hot soup or broth, often one that is thick or savory.
羮 is a variant form of 羹, which combines 羔 (lamb) with 美 (beautiful, tasty) to suggest a savory lamb soup. The lower part of 羮 is a simplified or variant rendering of 美.
The top 羔 suggests a lamb, and the lower part looks like a simplified 美 (tasty). Imagine a lamb being cooked into a delicious, hot soup.
For コウ, picture a cook stirring a pot of hot soup: cook -> コウ, and the steam rises from the broth.