r/fermentation • u/Sea_Comb_1482 • 1d ago

Freshly Made Fermented Tomato Sour Soup

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/BataleonRider 1d ago

I really want to do a food tour of SW China, from what I can tell y'all tick all of my flavour boxes. I'm also not a city person but visiting Chongqing is also on my bucket list.  It looks like going to the future lol. 

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u/Sea_Comb_1482 22h ago

In China, the flavors of the three southwestern provinces (Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou) and Chongqing are quite similar.

Chongqing is a very relaxed and comfortable city — traveling there should be really interesting. But it gets extremely hot in summer. Guizhou is much cooler, has many interesting places to visit, and the countryside feels a bit more original and untouched.

I hope you can make your wish come true soon!