Medium 50 min serves 3 Halal

Sour Soup Lamb (酸汤羊肉)

Name: Sour Soup Lamb (酸汤羊肉)
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Guizhou
Ingredients: lamb slices (hot-pot style); tomato, diced; pickled chili (zao la jiao) or chili flakes; white vinegar or rice vinegar; Shaoxing wine; scallion + cilantro, for garnish

酸汤羊肉 · suān tāng yáng ròu

家庭快手版 · Home version: Family version builds a hot-sour broth from tomato and pickled chili, then poaches lamb slices — the Guizhou answer to a cold day, bright instead of heavy.

In Guizhou every household keeps a jar of pickled chili. This soup is their winter default — sour, hot, and so bright it wakes you up.

Recipe author: HǎoWèi Test Kitchen

Home-cooking research team

Reviewed by HǎoWèi editorial team · Last updated 2026-08-29

Soups

Ingredients

lamb slices (hot-pot style)羊肉片（火锅式）🛒 local300 g
tomato, diced番茄（切丁）🛒 local200 g
pickled chili (zao la jiao) or chili flakes糟辣椒（或辣椒粉）🏮 asian20 g
white vinegar or rice vinegar白醋/米醋🏮 asian15 ml
Shaoxing wine绍兴酒🏮 asian15 ml
scallion + cilantro, for garnish葱+香菜（点缀）🛒 local15 g

lamb slices (hot-pot style): Thin slices cook in seconds.

🌶️ Adjust to your taste

Pick a level and we'll show exactly how much to change — no more "适量".

Spice level

Saltiness

Oiliness

Make it vegetarian

Instructions

1In a pot, sauté tomato and pickled chili over medium heat until tomato breaks down into a soft pulp.
炒出番茄酱
🔍 Look for Medium heat 5 分钟 · 5 minutes
Visual: 番茄塌成油亮红酱。Tomato collapses to a glossy red pulp.
You know it's right when: 酸甜味起。Sour-sweet aroma rises.
2Add 600 ml water and vinegar; bring to a boil to form the sour broth.
注水成汤
🔍 Look for High heat 5 分钟 · 5 minutes
Visual: 汤转粉红微浊。Broth turns pink-red and slightly cloudy.
You know it's right when: 酸辣蒸汽带刺。Tangy steam with chili heat.
3Add Shaoxing wine; slide lamb slices in and cook 1 minute until just opaque.
汆羊肉片
🔍 Look for High heat 1 分钟 · 1 minute
Visual: 羊肉转白、边微卷。Lamb turns white and curls at edges.
You know it's right when: 肉已熟仍嫩。Meat cooked through but still tender.
4Taste and adjust vinegar/salt; keep at a lively simmer.
调酸定咸
🔍 Look for Medium heat 1 分钟 · 1 minute
Visual: 汤面微漾，复转清。Surface shimmers; broth clarity returns.
You know it's right when: 明亮开胃的酸。Bright, mouth-watering sourness.
5Scatter scallion and cilantro; serve hot as a soup course.
撒香菜出锅
🔍 Look for 1 分钟 · 1 minute
Visual: 青绿浮于粉红汤。Greens bright atop pink-red broth.
You know it's right when: 香草提酸辣。Fresh herb lifts the sour heat.

Tips

· Balance the sour: add vinegar at the end so it stays bright, not flat.
· Use thin hot-pot lamb slices — they poach in under a minute.
· Pickled chili gives authentic Guizhou tang; chili flakes are a fine backup.

Sources & references

Quantities, technique notes, and substitution ratios are cross-checked against established Chinese cookery references and standard food-science sources.

Read our editorial policy
Fuchsia Dunlop, Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking
USDA FoodData Central — ingredient nutrition and portion data
Traditional Chinese family-kitchen practice and regional taste records

Common questions

Can I skip Shaoxing wine? What's the substitute?

Dry sherry is the closest 1:1 swap (fidelity ~80%). No sherry? Use a splash of white wine plus a little water, or just skip it and add a tiny extra pinch of sugar — the wine's job is depth and removing meat's gamey notes, and a good marinade covers most of it.

Source: HǎoWèi substitution engine

It's too spicy. How do I tone it down?

Add a dairy element (a swirl of yogurt, milk, or a spoon of peanut butter) — dairy fat binds the capsaicin. Sugar or honey also helps balance heat. For next time: remove chili seeds (they hold most heat) or halve the dried chilies and add chili oil at the table instead.

Source: HǎoWèi flavor guide