Hot and Sour Noodles Soup (a.k.a. Suan La Fen, 酸辣粉) is a very popular street food in China. Every time, I went back to China to visit my parents, this is definitely one of my must-have dishes 🙂

Overhead view of a bowl of hot and sour glass noodle soup, next to a small white bowl of roasted spicy peanuts, a small transparent bowl of minced garlic, and another one for finely chopped scallions on a marble table top.

Ingredients and notes

Besides the common ingredients in Chinese condiments: scallion, garlic, cilantro, you'll also need glass noodles, roasted peanuts, Chinese preserved vegetable (zha cai, 榨菜), lard or cooking oil for this recipe. For each serving bowl, there is a rich variety of spices: Sichuan peppercorn powder, Chinese five-spice powder, sugar, chili oil (optional), Lao Gan Ma spicy crisp, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil chicken broth mix, and salt.

100 g sweet potato noodles
2 tbsp roasted peanuts
2 tbsp finely chopped green onion /scallion
A handful of chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped Chinese preserved vegetable
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lard or cooking oil

Chinese preserved vegetable

Overhead view of 3 small transparent bowls with chopped coriander, minced garlic and finely chopped scallion.

Chopped coriander, minded garlic, and finely chopped scallions

Store-bought roasted spicy peanuts

A bunch of sweet potato glass noodles

Seasoning for each serving bowl:

½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
½ teaspoon sugar
Optional: 1 tablespoon Chinese chili oil or homemade chili oil
1 tablespoon LaoGanMa spicy crisp
2 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon LEE KUM KEE soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon Chicken broth mix
½ teaspoon salt, to taste

Labeled ingredient list for hot and sour glass noodle soup.

Notes and variations

Roasted nuts: Roasted nuts provides nutty flavor to the recipe. I like using roasted peanuts, spicy or non-spicy. You can substitute this with roasted soybeans, pine nuts or cashew nuts if you wish. It’s easiest to use store-bought roasted nuts.
Oil or lard: Lard enriches the taste. But if animal fat bothers you, feel free to replace it with your regular cooking oil.
Glass noodles: I use sweet potato glass noodles due to its chewy texture and thickness. You can substitute it with potato noodles, mung bean glass noodles, or vermicelli.

Step-by-step instructions

Pro-soak a bunch of sweet potato glass noodles in water in a white container.

Pre-soak the sweet potato noodles till soft

Sweet potato glass noodles in boiling water in a stainless steel pot on stove.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, cook the sweet potato noodles according to the package instruction

Overhead view of all seasonings placed in a beige bowl.

Meanwhile, take a serving bowl, add all seasoning to the bowl, mix well

Close up view of lard melting in a black non-sticky pan.

Heat up the lard or cooking oil.

Close up view of minced garlic cooking in melt lard in a black non-sticky pan.

Saute minced garlic

Overhead view of all seasonings and cooked garlic in a beige bowl.

Once done, add to the sauce bowl

Overhead view of all seasonings and cooked garlic mixed in a beige bowl.

Combine and mix well all seasonings

Overhead view of cooked sweet potato glass noodles placed in a beige bowl.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain well in a strainer

Overhead view of cooked spicy and sour noodles soup in a beige bowl next to a small transparent bowl of chopped Chinese preserved vegetable (zha cai).

Transfer the noodles to the sauce bowl, add the noodle cooking water.

Overhead view of cooked spicy and sour noodles soup in a beige bowl, with cilantro, minced garlic and roasted spicy peanuts on top.

Add chopped Chinese preserved vegetable, chopped coriander, roasted peanuts, chopped green onion on the top.

Serve and enjoy!

Close up view of a bowl of hot and sour glass noodle soup (suan la fen)

Overhead view of a bowl of cooked suan la fen next to a small white bowl of roasted spicy peanuts and a small transparent bowl of left-over minced garlic.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Overhead view of cooked hot and sour glass noodles.

Print Recipe

Hot and Sour Noodles

One of my favourite street foods.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: 1 people

Ingredients

100 g sweet potato noodles
2 tbsp roasted peanuts
2 tbsp finely chopped green onion
A handful of chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped Chinese preserved vegetable
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lard or cooking oil

Seasoning for each serving bowl:

½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp Chinese chili oil or homemade chili oil
1 tbsp LaoGanMa spicy crisp
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp LEE KUM KEE soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp Chicken broth mix
½ tsp salt, to taste

Instructions

Preparation:

Pre-soak the sweet potato noodles till soft

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, cook the sweet potato noodles according to the package instruction
Meanwhile, take a serving bowl, add all seasoning to the bowl, mix well
Heat up the lard or cooking oil, saute minced garlic. Once done, add to the sauce bowl, mix well
Once the noodles are cooked, drain well in a strainer. Then transfer the noodles to the sauce bowl, add the noodle cooking water
Add chopped Chinese preserved vegetable, chopped coriander, roasted peanuts, chopped green onion on the top
Serve and enjoy!

Hot and Sour Glass Noodle Soup