Hey, so i am craving hulatang right now. My favorite chinese place closed and I don’t want to break the bank trying to find a good one right now. I am not (much of) a food snob, i just have understandable food anxieties and would prefer cooking myself.
Do any of y’all have a good, reliable cookbook or website you could recommend? I mean, primarily for hulatang but Chinese food in general. I have a couple back burner projects that could benefit as well from some expert guidance. I feel like I have gotten as far as my nose and tongue (which are damn good) can get me. I would prefer English language materials, but i can use translation tools on written stuff.
I’m about to head out so it might take me a bit to get back, but i’ll be around today.
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Edit: Hulantang is not the same as hot and sour soup. I misunderstood the OP. My bad.
I made some recently-ish when I was sick. I’ve tried many recipes before but this is the current iteration of my favorite recipe:That is Suan la tang, which is sour and spicy.
So how do I turn hot and sour soup into hot pepper soup? I have been so busy today I haven’t actually had time to read recipes
Sorry. I misunderstood. I scrolled down and saw someone had posted a recipe on hot and sour soup and assumed the two were the same. I’ll ammend my original post. My bad.
oh no worries. i love hot and sour soup too, just hot pepper soup is my craving
Not a website, but if you’re interested in Chinese cooking (in English), you really should read Fuchsia Dunlop. Her specialty is Sichuanese cooking, but she has fantastic recipes and insight into other regions, such as the southeast of the country.
I’ve never had hulatang, but this looks like where I would start:
https://happyspicyhour.com/hulatang/
When I’m learning to make something, I like to read a handful of recipes, consider my tastes, and make something that isn’t any of the recipes exactly–especially when it comes to making soups or deciding seasoning amounts. When I was a newer cook, I would try a couple of recipes exactly and learn that way.
As for websites… I don’t know that I have a go-to, but I like, for example:
The Mala Market The Woks of Life Wok of Love Yi Reservation
I’m sure I’m forgetting many.
You might find that a good cookbook is actually worthwhile. And not skipping too much of the non-recipe parts because they can be interesting and very helpful. I could recommend a couple, but it would help to know if there is some area you would like it to focus on because Chinese cooking is a vast subject.
+1 for the woks of life
I’ll have to check out the rest of your recommendations :)
You described my method of recipe research, but I am so out of my depth here I needed to ask me internet peeps for help. Thanks for the recommendations on Fuchsia Dunlop! I’m going to start there probably (I’m devouring everything everyone is saying I’m so excited to cook this) but it’s going to take at least one insomnia to get through it.
I hear exactly what you say about the non recipe parts. The theory is the best part of the cookbook. Off topic but Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz is just like that (it is my ice cream enchiridion) and it’s why I love reading serious eats. That website taught me to cook 25ish years ago.
I’m a huge fan of Kenji’s recipe in “The Wok” book. But to get you your fix ASAP, here ya go… (it looks okay on my screen, but let me know if the resolution is too low here)
oh you can’t go wrong with kenji. my understanding is this is hulatang hot pepper soup, not hot and sour, but i don’t really know. they look the same so i can adapt from here though. thank you so much!
This looks awesome, and I now need this cookbook. Isn’t this a different soup though?
You’re right. Derp. That’s what I get for not reading more thoroughly.
dude i need to get all of kenji’s cookbooks eventually. thankfully my library has a few and i can check them out.
my cousin, he has had one of them checked out from the SF public library for 3 years the bum
Apologies for the substack, they have a yt channel under the same name if you prefer that source.
https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/hot-pepper-soup
You’ll have a hard time sourcing some of these ingredients if you don’t live near an international market (in the US, at least). I’ve had okay luck using Weee! for most of the herbs in this recipe.
i have a great chinese/sea market and an indian/afghan spice store/kebabery just opened in a historic building so like, i have very good odds. thanks!
Sounds like you are set then :)
Never had it but that looks amazing.
…so appetizing…
It is my favorite soup. I think I had it last in 2022.
My favorite Chinese place lasted long enough to serve my dad his favorite meal for his last meal. I’ve had it rough, but his last years were harder. So like Chinese food gets emotional for the family and i want to give them something delicious someplace private and space to process. Anniversary is coming up.
Now I’m gong to go put on some sunglasses and pretend I forgot my allergy medicationMany of the most delicious foods look like brown slop. This looks a bit better than that.
Your average internet recipe has not been professionally shot and edited and that’s generally a good thing, knowing what the food actually looks like.
