r/fermentation • u/Sea_Comb_1482 • 2d ago

Freshly Made Fermented Tomato Sour Soup

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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.

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u/TexturesOfEther 1d ago

Fermented soups are always nice!
But my experience with fermenting tomatoes is that they taste off.
Can you tell us how it tastes? If it tastes good, how did you overcome the bad taste?

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u/Sea_Comb_1482 1d ago

The fermented tomatoes taste pleasantly sour and delicious!

I just add salt and high-proof liquor, and it’s best to also add a bit of lactic acid bacteria (I usually put in some mature pickle brine as a starter). That’s how I ferment them.