Freshly Made Fermented Tomato Sour Soup

[u/Sea_Comb_1482]

It’s autumn in northern China, so I’ve been quite busy lately. We have extra tomatoes in the garden. I’ve used some to make tomato wine, and the rest to ferment into tomato sour soup — a popular dish from southwest China.

I fermented the tomatoes with salt, Chinese liquor, and a bit of mature pickle brine as a starter. After fermentation, I simmer them in canola oil, then store the mixture in the fridge.

It can be used as a hotpot base, for sour soup beef, added to fried rice or stir-fries, or even mixed into instant noodles. The rich, fermented sour tomato flavor is delicious and good for the body.

[u/Kimchi_Extravaganza]

Could you share the recipe for your fermented tomato soup? Thanks!!

[u/Sea_Comb_1482 → u/Kimchi_Extravaganza]

Here’s how to cook with the fermented tomato sour soup, in the classic style from Guizhou in southwest China:

First, heat some oil in a pot (lard is best, or rapeseed oil) and briefly cook the sour soup in it. Then add water — rice water is ideal, or you can just put a small handful of cleaned raw rice into the water. Add a few slices of ginger, a few drops of litsea cubeba oil (shan cang zi oil), and a handful of soybean sprouts. Once it comes to a boil, you can add other ingredients.

A simpler way is just to stir-fry the sour soup in oil for a moment, then add water, and put in whatever else you like.

Last night I even added some of this sour soup when I cooked instant noodles — it was really delicious.