Hot and Sour Soup
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Hot and Sour Soup
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Hot and Sour Soup (Simplified Chinese: 酸辣汤; Traditional Chinese: 酸辣湯; Pinyin: Suānlà tāng) is a Chinese soup seasoned primarily with vinegar and white pepper (or chili), thickened with starch, and often finished with beaten egg.[1]
Characteristics
The defining balance is sharp acidity plus warming spice. Restaurant versions commonly include tofu strips, wood ear, bamboo shoot, and shreds of pork or egg ribbons.
Ingredients (overview)
Stock, vinegar, white pepper or chili, soy sauce, starch slurry, tofu, mushrooms or wood ear, egg, and optional meat. Regional and overseas Chinese restaurant recipes differ widely.
History and culture
Hot and sour profiles appear in several Chinese regional kitchens; the dish also became a standard opener in overseas Chinese restaurants. It is related in flavor idea to Sichuanese heat-and-sour preferences but is not limited to one province.
Serving and variations
Starter soup. See Sichuan Food for related sour-spicy ideas such as Suan Cai Yu; for noodle soups see regional pages.