Sour Soup Dumplings

Sour Soup Dumplings

　　In Xi’an, sour soup dumplings are as ubiquitous as Lanzhou beef noodles are in Lanzhou. Visitors need only stroll through the streets to spot them—and catch their aroma. Many vendors have signs, even if they’re just a few crooked characters written on red and white paper in large print, making them easy to see. Even without signs, most place their boiling water pots right at the storefront, often alongside another steaming pot of fragrant, spicy and sour soup—so they’re both visible and aromatic.

　　　　As the name suggests, the highlight of sour soup dumplings is the sour soup. But the dumplings themselves are also excellent. Fillings include pork, lamb, and seafood, with lamb being the most popular. They are typically handmade and made to order. The emphasis is on generous filling, thin wrappers, and plenty of meat—often forming a single meatball-like lump. When shaping the dumplings, vendors press the filling with both hands, using their thumbs to squeeze inward and create a ruffled, knob-like shape. As a result, they’re also called lamb knobs or pork knobs. Some say the term “dumpling” is a recent one, and locals originally called them “knobs.” In Huxian County, which is part of Xi’an, there’s a local snack called Pork & Chili Knob, where the “knob” refers to the dumpling.

　　　　Xi’an’s night markets have become especially popular in recent years, and so have the sour soup dumplings found there. Take a look at the broth in the bowl—deep red and oily—and you can tell just by the smell that it’s intensely spicy and sour. One taste will have every pore in your body breaking into a sweat, with the sour and spice making your tongue tingle. People often ask, “How can people from Shaanxi eat so much acid and spice?” It’s odd, really—when it comes to sour flavors, people think of Shanxi, and when it comes to spice, they think of Hunan, but rarely does Shaanxi come to mind. Yet, when it comes to sourness, Shaanxi is no less bold than Shanxi; and when it comes to spice, Shaanxi locals are firmly in the “afraid-not-to-be-spicy” camp of the “not afraid of spicy, spicy not afraid, afraid-not-to-be-spicy” trio.