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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/suan-la-fen-final-shot.jpg)
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
![A small transparent bowl with chopped Chinese preserved vegetable (zha cai) next to a package of the preserved vegetable.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Chopped-preserved-vegetable-zha-cai.jpg)
Chinese preserved vegetable
![Overhead view of 3 small transparent bowls with chopped coriander, minced garlic and finely chopped scallion.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Hot-sour-noodle-soup-ingredient-cilantro-scallion-garlic.jpg)
Chopped coriander, minded garlic, and finely chopped scallions
![A package of store-bought roasted spicy peanuts and a small white bowl of the peanuts for demonstration.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Spicy-peanuts.jpg)
Store-bought roasted spicy peanuts
![Overhead view of a bunch of sweet potato glass noodles on top of a wooden table.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Sweet-potato-glass-noodles.jpg)
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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Hot-and-Sour-Noodles-Labeled-Seasonings.jpg)
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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/presoaked-sweet-potato-glass-noodles.jpg)
Pre-soak the sweet potato noodles till soft
![Sweet potato glass noodles in boiling water in a stainless steel pot on stove.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cooking-glass-noodles-in-pot.jpg)
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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/seasoning-in-bowl.jpg)
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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Lard-melt-in-pan-scaled.jpg)
Heat up the lard or cooking oil.
![Close up view of minced garlic cooking in melt lard in a black non-sticky pan.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/saute-minced-garlic-in-melt-lard.jpg)
Saute minced garlic
![Overhead view of all seasonings and cooked garlic in a beige bowl.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/seasoning-and-cooked-garlic-in-bowl.jpg)
Once done, add to the sauce bowl
![Overhead view of all seasonings and cooked garlic mixed in a beige bowl.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/seasoning-and-cooked-garlic-mix-in-bowl.jpg)
Combine and mix well all seasonings
![Overhead view of cooked sweet potato glass noodles placed in a beige bowl.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/glass-noodles-in-seasoing-bowl.jpg)
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).](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hot-sour-noodles-soup.jpg)
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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hot-sour-noodles-soup-with-toppings.jpg)
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)](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hot-and-sour-side-angle-shot.jpg)
![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.](https://noodlecrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hot-and-sour-overhead-shot.jpg)
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Hot and Sour Noodles
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!
Tasty and savory dish with hot sensation in the mouth.