Chengdu comfort food - Snap pea soup

For a Chengdu style snack that is truly comfort food, look no further than the dried snap pea soup豆汤饭. Chengdu has very high humidity and when the summer months turns into fall and winter, locals swarm to drink the snap pea soup. Back home, when winter hits, pho restaurants gets crowded, every city has their own version of comfort food.

This store has over a century in history and the reason it still exists is because of the soup. Other places that i have tried have a umami spike in them that can be traced to chicken stock or MSG. This store is different, the umami is subtle and the soup has different layers of aroma, from the chicken bones and pork marrow. I talked to the boss regarding their soup and he states that they have been boiling only bones without MSG for a few decades now. The soup is also very well seasoned, just the right amount of salt. Other places tend to add too much salt and MSG.

To make the soup at home, soak the dried snap peas in hot water and salt for a few hours. Then use pork and chicken bones with leeks to stew the broth until it is milky in texture and color. Then add the soaked peas in.

The other dishes that this store is famous for is the cold side dishes. You can order a variety of different of cold cuts from the deli counter. It is then mixed up together and you eat it with the hot and delicious snap pea soup and some rice. Some selection to choose from are pork liver, pork ear slices, beef tripe, beef slices and more. Sliced cold cuts are mixed with soy sauce, sweet glutinous rice vinegar, red peppercorn powder, green peppercorn powder and red chili oil and garlic soaked in oil.

Chengdu snap pea soup 豆汤饭 marinated pork tongue

Place to search for on Baidu map / Gao de map: 温记府庙豆汤店(九眼桥店)

Address: 一环路南一段2号好望文化广场5号楼1楼6

Phone: 15308090430

Hours: Opened till late, lots of bar goers come here for soup after