Soups

Appears in
top 1000Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook
Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook

By Ellen Schrecker

Published 1976

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Mrs. Chiang remembers that “soup was for special occasions in Szechwan; my mother would serve a light, clear soup at the end of a feast, after everyone had gorged on her richest and most elegant meat dishes. A delicate soup rinsed out the digestive system and made everyone feel they had eaten gracefully as well as fully.

“Of course, we also had thick soups, like the spicy Hot and Sour Soup that is a famous Szechwan specialty. These would be served as a course in themselves. In the winter a big bowl of Won Ton Soup made a whole dinner for the family. Any time soup came in a small bowl you knew it was soup; in a large bowl it became a main course.”