A Bite of Sour Fish Soup in Guizhou, China

A Bite of Sour Fish Soup in My Hometown Guiyang, China

My hometown Guiyang is located in the south-west of China, the capital city of Guizhou. It is a transfer point between most China cities, and the various ethnic minorities’ villages in the province.

When I was a kid. I was told by people that I looked different than others, because I was a minority Miao. However, my family moved from Miao area to the city before I was born, I know nothing about Miao culture. Miao, an ancient minority can date back to five thousand years ago. The most Miao population distributes across Guizhou.

Two years ago, I went to Xijiang Miao Village. It was hilly and mountainous. The building was kept the traditional appearance which was built along with the mountain.

Fish in sour soup is my favorite food and it is one of the famous Miao cuisines in Guizhou. When you imagine the sour, you may think of vinegar. But tomatoes are the main ingredients made the sour soup. Locals put tomatoes in the pickle jar with water and a little salt, and then seal it. After a month, the sugar in the tomatoes have turned into lactic acid witch create the sour flavor. We call it “red sour soup” which gives the hotpot gorgeous color and makes people very appetizing. Except the freshwater fish in the traditional soup, it always comes with other dishes included red paper, potato slices, bean sprouts and caraway. When you use chopsticks to push the fish aside, the meat scatters as the shape of garlic clove, all like slice, tender and compact. Since the fish has absorbed the fragrance from the ingredients in the red sour soup, it tastes sour, spicy, fresh and delicious. We usually have this dish with families and friends. The hotpot represents the most of our yearning for the time getting together with each other.

This Miao cuisine had a legend. Once upon a time, a girl lived on a beautiful hill in Miao Mountain. People call her Anna. She danced gracefully and sang like an angle. Besides all the gifts she had, she made the best wine in Miao village. Her wine tasted purer than the mountain spring, and it flavored with an extraordinary fragrance. Because of her beauty and intelligence, many young men adored her. When suitors from near and far came to her house and paid court to her, she gave a cup of wine to them. If Anna did not like the man, he would taste the wine as extremely sour. As darkness fell, these broken heart men sang to Anna outside of her house and asked her to meet. Anna sang back to response “with love, pure mountain spring could become sweet wine; without love, sweet wine would turn sour”. Sour soup derives from this touching story. Whether this young lady found her love not, it is still a myth until now.

People start to use sour wine as an ingredient added to hotpot soup. Later, people found sour wine were made from fermented rice, but fermented tomato acutely tastes better and works the best with fish hotpot and other food. Therefore, the “red sour soup” was invented. More different cooking methods have spread out through Guizhou.

My hometown Guizhou has a humid climate with a few seasonal changes. During summer time, visitors from all over China come to Guizhou as a summer resort. In this cozy environment, locals become addicted to sour soup. We believe that food in sour flavor makes us refresh and cheer us up. Although many locals belong to China’s main minority, they have strong curiosities and respect to Miao Minority. We enjoy eating fish in sour soup in a Miao restaurant is not just because of its delicacy, but also the Miao culture. During the meal, in order to welcome guests, Miao woman with gorgeous silver jewelries hands over a long horn filed with wine, and the guests must drink it to show his or her respect. When people have fish in sour soup, they do not just need as a daily bread but more of reunion and joyfulness.