Sour Fare for the Sixth Day of Chinese New Year
Had your fill of rich meats and fish over the Spring Festival? If you’re stumped on what to cook for your next meal, give Yi Yi Farm’s versatile red sour soup a go. Whether you’re poaching fish, simmering beef, tossing noodles, stir-frying vegetables, or even whisking up a cold salad, it adds depth and sharpens the appetite. Feeling like hosting? Let it take centre stage in a bubbling sour soup hotpot. If the heavy festive flavours have lost their appeal, let this bright, tangy aroma reignite your appetite.
Ingredients:
Red sour soup base, tomatoes, mung bean sprouts, Chinese chives, celery, lard, spring onions, ginger, garlic, litsea cubeba, sweet fermented rice wine, salt
Method:
1. Heat lard in a pot and fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add the red sour soup base, spring onion segments, litsea cubeba, sweet fermented rice wine, and fresh tomatoes.
3. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Add the mung bean sprouts, Chinese chives, and celery to form the base.
4. Season with salt to taste. The broth is now ready for poaching a variety of meats, vegetables, or staple foods.
Notes:
A common mistake is simply diluting the sour soup base with water; it really needs to be fried out first to release its flavours. The vegetables listed are essential for building a rich, savoury broth, while the fermented rice wine is optional.
Wondering what else you can do with sour soup? Click 👉🏻Vegetarian sour soup for the summer months to learn more, and follow @Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market to make a purchase.
Time to eat! This New Year, tuck into something delicious you can trace straight back to its source.
Foodthink has joined forces with the growers from the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market to bring you a “New Year recipe collection” built around their own homegrown produce.
You won’t find measurements down to the gram or timing down to the minute here, nor will you see showy, complicated techniques.
What you will find is a quiet confidence in the ingredients themselves, alongside straightforward, homely advice you’d expect from family.
When produce is selected with care, there’s no need to overthink. Simple, effortless methods, paired with just the right warmth, are all it takes.
Behind every dish in this collection stands a real person.
The farmers know exactly what makes their ingredients special, and they know the best way to honour that quality on the plate.
When you know the name of a block of tofu, can trace a chicken’s pedigree, and trust a radish enough to eat it unpeeled — exquisite flavour simply follows.
From the second to the seventh day, six New Year dishes from our farming friends — one for each day.
Day Two: Aromatic Steamed Free-Range Pork
Day Three: Super Stir-Fried Chicken
Day Four: Soy-Braised Tofu
Day Five: Radish Carpaccio
Cultivated with care, prepared with peace of mind, eaten with confidence.
