Hot and sour soup
A Chinese soup combining spicy heat and sourness, often with tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and vinegar.
Chinkiang vinegar: A dark Chinese vinegar made from glutinous rice or other grains, associated with the city of Zhenjiang. Its malty acidity can supply the soup’s characteristic sour note.
Chinese cooking techniques: Methods developed in Chinese cuisines for preparing ingredients and cooking dishes. The soup draws on techniques such as simmering, thickening, and controlled pouring.
Sichuan cuisine: A Chinese regional cuisine known for bold flavors, including chile heat and Sichuan peppercorn’s numbing sensation. Sichuan-style versions can emphasize chile and pepper alongside sourness.
Vegetarian cuisine: Cooking that excludes meat and, depending on the practice, may also exclude other animal products. Tofu and mushrooms make meat-free versions straightforward, though stock ingredients still matter.
Sour soup: A broad type of soup in which sour ingredients provide a defining taste. Hot and sour soup pairs acidity with pronounced heat rather than emphasizing sourness alone.
White pepper: A pungent spice made from the dried berries of Piper nigrum with their outer skins removed. It commonly provides the soup’s warming heat without relying on chile flavor.
Soup: A usually liquid dish made by cooking ingredients in water, stock, or another liquid. Hot and sour soup is a seasoned, often thickened member of this broad dish family.
Hunan cuisine: A Chinese regional cuisine associated with fresh chiles, garlic, and direct, pungent flavors. Hunan cooking offers a related regional approach to pronounced heat.
Chinese restaurant: An establishment serving food associated with Chinese culinary traditions, often adapted to its location and clientele. Hot and sour soup is a familiar starter on many Chinese restaurant menus.
Suan la fen: A Sichuan dish of sour and spicy sweet-potato noodles served in broth. It shares the sour-and-spicy profile but is built around noodles rather than a soup’s mixed ingredients.