Pickle and Meat Shred Soup

The pickles of Szechwan are legendary. “Every family made its own pickles, and every kitchen had three or four big earthenware jars full of them,” says Mrs. Chiang. “My mother’s were particularly good. She made so many that we ate preserved or salted vegetable every day for breakfast, and there were still enough left over to sell at market.”

Pickles are one of the few foods Mrs. Chiang is unable to make in America, for many of the vegetables pickled