Hot And Sour Hotpot Broth

Name: Hot And Sour Hotpot Broth
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 17 min
Total time: 1 h 32 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 300 g suancai; 4 tbs pickled chilli; 2-inch piece ginger; 4 spring onion; 6 cloves garlic; 1 tbs oil; 2 tbs Chinese cooking wine; 2 l water (or stock); 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn; 1/4 cup dried chilli; 1 tbs salt; 1/2 tsp white pepper; 1 tbs sugar; 1 tbs MSG; 2 tbs rice vinegar

By Jonathan Louis Ng

January 15, 2025

A flavorful hotpot broth infused with pickled vegetables and aromatic spices.

chinese,soups

ServingsDifficultyActive TimeTotal Time

intermediate

1h 35m

Inspired by the popular suancaiyu fish soup dish, this soup base is equal parts savory, spicy and tangy. As you might expect, it goes perfectly with fish, but is also great with meat. Suancai is key to the broth and can't be substituted. If you can't find pickled chilli, just omit it; you may have to adjust the rice vinegar at the end to get the right balance. I went with water as the liquid base for simplicity, but if you have stock (chicken or fish would be best here) use it to add a bit more complexity to the broth.

Ingredients

300 grams suancai
4 tablespoons pickled chilli
2 -inch piece ginger
4 spring onion
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
2 litres water
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
0.25 cups dried chilli
1 tablespoon salt
0.5 teaspoons white pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon MSG
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Nutrition

Per serving (serves 6)

Low calorie

Low saturated fat

Low cholesterol

Low sodium

Calories
3

Protein
42 mg

Fat
106 mg

Carbs
362 mg

Instructions

1. 1
  Wash the suancai under running water, then place into a bowl and cover with water. Allow it to soak for 15 minutes, then drain and wash the suancai once more. This will help reduce any excess salt.
2. 2
  Chop the suancai into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
3. 3
  Chop the pickled chilli into smaller pieces and set aside.
4. 4
  Slice the ginger, cut the spring onion into small pieces, and leave the garlic cloves whole.
5. 5
  In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the ginger, spring onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
6. 6
  Add the pickled chilli and cook for another 2 minutes.
7. 7
  Add the cut suancai to the pot and stir well to combine.
8. 8
  Pour in the Chinese cooking wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze and incorporate the flavors. Cook it out for 2 minutes.
9. 9
  Add water (or stock), Sichuan peppercorn, dried chilli, salt, white pepper, sugar, and MSG. Bring to a boil, then simmer for half an hour.
10. 10
  Stir in the rice vinegar just before serving. You can serve the entire pot of ingredients for hotpot, or discard the solids and just use the broth.
- 300 grams suancai
- 4 tablespoons pickled chilli
- 2 -inch piece ginger
- 4 spring onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
- 2 litres water
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
- 0.25 cups dried chilli
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoons white pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon MSG
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar