Hot and Sour Soup

soup · Chinese cuisine · world food

Spicy and tangy. Hot and sour soup gets its kick from peppers and its zing from vinegar or other sour ingredients, making it a flavor combo that wakes up your taste buds.

Flexible recipe. This soup is like a cooking adventure because cooks add different ingredients depending on what they have available, so no two versions are exactly the same.

Started in Henan. Hot and sour soup comes from the Henan region of China, where it was originally called hulatang or pepper hot soup.

Popular worldwide. You can find hot and sour soup in Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, Japan, the United States, and many other countries, with each place adding its own twist.

American version thicker. In the United States, cooks often add corn starch to make hot and sour soup thicker and creamier than the traditional Chinese version.