Red sour soup, white sour soup, fish slices tumbling through the pot — Guizhou's sourness is fermented freshness.
Guizhou people love sour food, and sour fish soup is the Miao people's first dish for guests.
In Guizhou, especially in the Miao villages of southeastern Guizhou, sour fish soup is the first dish offered to guests. The sour soup is made by fermenting wild tomatoes or rice water — red sour soup is bright and appetising, white sour soup is clean and mellow. Fish slices tumble in the broth, served with a chilli dipping sauce, sour, spicy and fragrant.
Guizhou's sourness is different from anywhere else. The province loves sour because the mountain climate is hot and humid, and sour food opens the appetite, cuts grease and aids digestion. The Miao sour soup ferments wild tomatoes or glutinous rice, uses no vinegar, and is naturally sour.
The dish demands fresh fish and properly fermented soup. The fish is usually carp or grass carp raised in rice paddies, killed and cooked immediately; the sour soup must be fermented just right, sour but not harsh, fresh but not sharp. The fish cooks quickly in the broth, its flesh tender, the sourness seeping in, and with the chilli dip, every bite is a burst of flavour.
In Miao villages, sour fish soup is often served at the 'long table feast'. On festival days, the Miao people lay out long tables with sour fish soup, sticky rice and rice wine; guests sit together while songs and toasts pass around. Sour fish soup is not just food but the warmth of Miao hospitality.
Today sour fish soup has left the mountains, and many cities serve it. But the most authentic bowl is still in a Miao village of southeastern Guizhou: red sour soup bubbling in an iron pot, Miao girls singing toasting songs, and one bowl warming you to the core.
When you visit Guizhou, try sour fish soup. In Kaili or Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, find a soup restaurant, watch the red broth roll, and listen to the lusheng — the zest of Guizhou holds the wisdom and warmth of the Miao people.
