Name: Hot-and-Sour Soup
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 30 ml/2 tbsp Xinkiang black vinegar, or a dark wine vinegar; 1 spring onion/scallion, finely chopped; 2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped; 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns; fried onions or garlic slices, to garnish; 50 g/2 oz silken or firm tofu, cut into 1 cm/½ in cubes; salt and ground black pepper; 2.5 ml/½ tsp caster/superfine sugar; 15 ml/1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch; 800 ml/1½ pints/scant 3¼ cups boiling water; 1 skinless chicken breast, about 125 g/4¼ oz; 30 ml/2 tbsp light soy sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

China

By Terry Tan

Published 2020

About

This Sichuan soup has crossed more borders in China than the Great Wall and it has become a part of Hunan and even Cantonese cooking. The blend of black Xinkiang (or Sinkiang) vinegar, chopped chillies and pepper is aromatic and spicy, and it really catches the throat. Generally chicken is added, but a vegetarian version can feature just the diced tofu. Long-life tofu is available in two types – silken and firm; either are suitable.