Hot and Sour Beef
Quick Info
- Flavor
- Tangy and sour from tomatoes and pickled chilies, with a gentle warmth. The broth is bright, appetizing, and deeply savory.
- Texture
- Thin, tender slices of fatty beef in a rich, slightly thick sour broth with soft vegetables
- Spice Level
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️ — A warm, tingling heat similar to a spicy tomato soup: the sourness is the star
- Temperature
- Served Hot
Ingredients
Allergens
Confirmed
Possible
These ingredients may vary by restaurant. Ask your server to confirm.
The story
Guizhou province is famous for its sour soups (酸汤), a tradition born from the region’s love of fermented and pickled ingredients. The original acid comes from naturally fermented tomato-chili broth, a staple of Miao ethnic minority cooking. When thinly sliced fatty beef (肥牛, literally “fat cow”) became widely available, pairing it with this sour broth created one of China’s most popular modern comfort dishes, now found in restaurants nationwide.
What to expect
A bubbling pot or deep bowl of vivid orange-red broth arrives, and its surface glistens with chili oil as thin, curled slices of marbled beef float on it. The broth is the heart of the dish, intensely sour and tangy with a slow chili warmth, and it tastes of cooked tomatoes and fermented peppers. The beef slices are silky and melt-tender. Mushrooms and glass noodles at the bottom soak up all that flavorful broth.
Tips
Drink the broth: it is meant to be enjoyed as a soup, not as a cooking liquid. The hot and sour beef is excellent for anyone who loves sour flavors but wants to ease into spicy Chinese food. The heat is moderate and the sourness is very appetizing.