Soups & broths · Guizhou
Guizhou Sour Soup Fish
酸汤鱼 — Guizhou’s defining hotpot: river fish in a "red sour" broth fermented from wild tomatoes and rice — the sourness that beats Sichuan spice for refreshment.
The Miao and Dong kitchens of southeast Guizhou ferment tomatoes and rice into a broth that is sour the way fine vinegar is — layered, aromatic, appetite-opening. Fish (often the local jiaoxiang variety) poaches in it with chilies, tomato and herbs, and the first sip reorganises your understanding of "hotpot".
Kaili is the birthplace; Guiyang has made it the provincial dish. Order it with the rice-ferment dipping sauce and a side of fold-ear root (zhe er gen) for the full Guizhou experience. If you find sour soup fish mild, ask for the "old broth" version that has been maintained for days.
Where to eat it
- Guiyang sour-soup fish houses
- Kaili and Xijiang village kitchens (the home region)
Routes that eat their way here
More dishes to know
- Yangrou Paomo (羊肉泡馍)
- Cantonese Congee (艇仔粥/生滚粥)
- Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙)