Sour Soup Beef (Suān Tāng Féi Niú)
Sour and spicy beef in golden broth, tender beef slices with enoki mushrooms and pickled peppers, a bowl that warms you up and tantalizes your taste buds.
Ingredients
13 items- Beef rolls (fatty beef slices) 300g
- Enoki mushrooms 200g
- Yellow lantern chili paste 2 tbsp (30g)
- Pickled peppers (pickled chilies) 5-6
- Ginger 3 slices
- Garlic 3 cloves
- White vinegar 1 tbsp (15ml)
- Sugar 1 tsp (5g)
- Salt to taste
- White pepper powder 1/2 tsp
- Broth or water 500ml
- Cooking oil 3 tbsp (45ml)
- Green and red chili peppers some
Nutrition
Steps （8 steps）
Prepare ingredients: Trim and rinse enoki mushrooms, separate into small clusters. Finely chop pickled peppers. Slice ginger and garlic. Slice green and red chili peppers into rings. Thaw beef rolls in advance until they can be easily separated into individual slices without tearing.
Blanch the mushrooms and beef: Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add enoki mushrooms and blanch for about 1 minute until softened. Drain and spread evenly in a large serving bowl. Using the same boiling water, add beef slices one by one and blanch until they change color (about 20 seconds). Immediately remove and lay on top of the mushrooms. Do not overcook the beef.
Sauté aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over medium heat until warm. Add ginger and garlic slices; stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add yellow lantern chili paste and chopped pickled peppers. Reduce heat to low and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until the oil turns red and the mixture is aromatic. Be careful not to burn the paste.
Make the sour broth: Pour in broth or water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add white vinegar, sugar, white pepper and salt to taste. Stir well, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 2 minutes to let flavors meld. Taste and adjust sourness or saltiness. The broth should be golden yellow and tangy.
Pour the broth: Strain the broth through a fine sieve to remove ginger, garlic and chili bits (optional). Pour the hot broth evenly over the beef and enoki mushrooms in the bowl until just submerged.
Aromatize with hot oil: Scatter the sliced green and red chili rings on top of the soup. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until hot and shimmering (just smoking). Carefully drizzle the hot oil over the chili rings. You'll hear a sizzling sound and the aroma of the chilies will bloom.
Rest to infuse: Do not cover the bowl. Let it rest for about 2 minutes, allowing the hot oil and broth to penetrate the beef and mushrooms, melding the flavors.
Serve: Gently stir before eating to coat the beef with the sour broth. Enjoy with steamed rice or noodles. The dish is best served hot.
Tips
1. Blanch the beef very briefly; remove as soon as it changes color to keep it tender. 2. Yellow lantern chili paste is essential for the authentic flavor and color; it's a special product from Hainan. 3. Do not skip the final oil drizzle; it elevates the aroma. 4. For a richer broth, use bone broth. 5. Adjust sourness and heat to your preference.
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