Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup (Suan La Tang)
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The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
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Origin
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Description
A clear chicken or pork stock-based soup thickened with cornstarch, acidified with Chinkiang black vinegar, and seasoned with white pepper and Sichuan pepper — containing silken tofu, wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers, bamboo shoots, and egg flowers (beaten egg dropped into the simmering soup and stirred into threads). Dunlop's version in *Every Grain of Rice* is a precise restoration of the restaurant standard — its sourness from Chinkiang vinegar (darker, more complex than rice vinegar) and its specific texture (cornstarch-thickened to a light, silk-like consistency) distinguish it from the Western-adapted versions.
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The Thread
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Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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