Performers from the Miao ethnic group dance at the launch ceremony of Haidilao's Leishan fish sauce sour hot pot in Leishan county, Guizhou province, in June. Provided to China Daily

With consumption upgrades, consumers' increasingly diversified tastes and pursuit of healthier diets, eating sour soup hot pot has become the new "it" dish among Chinese hot pot lovers.

随着消费者口味的日益多样化以及对健康饮食的追求，吃酸汤火锅已经成为中国火锅爱好者的新宠。

It's noon on Saturday inside the New World Department Store in Dongcheng district, Beijing, with people lining up outside a hot pot restaurant, waiting to try out the new arrival for summer dining — sour soup hot pot.

近日，在北京东城区新世界百货商场内，不少人在火锅店外排队，等着品尝该店的新产品——酸汤火锅。

"My friend and I are here to try out the Leishan fish sauce sour soup hot pot, which is a traditional dish of Southwest China's Guizhou province. Entering summer, with the hot weather, sometimes I feel like eating something sour to stimulate my appetite. We plan to order the fish sauce sour hot pot, thin-cut beef, black fish fillets, butterfly shrimp, sweet bamboo shoots as well as pomelo ice drinks," said Wang Yang, a hot pot fan waiting in line.

“来这里品尝雷山酸汤火锅，这是贵州省的代表美食。夏天炎热，有时我想吃点酸的东西来刺激食欲。我们计划点酸汤火锅、牛肉片、黑鱼片、蝴蝶虾以及一些冰冻饮料。“一位正在排队的火锅迷告诉记者。

This summer, hot pot chain Haidilao introduced Leishan "fish sauce sour" soup hot pot — a traditional dish from Leishan county of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou.

这个夏天，海底捞与贵州雷山县政府联合举办的雷山鱼酱酸开坛仪式暨海底捞夏季新品发布圆满落幕。现场，海底捞正式推出雷山酸汤锅，锅底中添加了非遗技艺发酵的“雷山鱼酱酸”，同时还为这款锅底精心搭配了一整套夏季菜品。

"The birthplace of sour soup is the autonomous prefecture, where the locals have a long history of enjoying sour food. Year by year, sour soup has transformed into various flavors, including rice sour soup, red sour soup, bean sour soup and fish sauce sour soup. Fish sauce sour soup is one of the chief culinary representatives of local intangible heritage skills. Therefore, we decided to introduce fish sauce sour soup hot pot to our menu," said a Haidilao spokesperson.

“酸汤的发源地是贵州，当地人有着悠久的吃酸历史。年复一年，酸汤变成了各种各样的口味，包括白酸汤、红酸汤、豆酸汤以及鱼酱酸汤。鱼酱酸汤是当地非物质文化遗产技艺的主要代表美食之一。因此，我们决定将鱼酱酸汤火锅加入我们的菜单。”海底捞的一位负责人表示。

The 2024 Chinese hot pot report, issued by industry research institute Huoguocanjian, showed that among consumers' favorite hot pot options, sour soup ranked second, just behind beef tallow soup. According to business data provider Qichacha, by the end of 2023, the number of sour soup hot pot-related enterprises surged by 48.3 percent in just six months.

酸汤已然成为近年来最火爆火锅味型之一。《2024中国火锅经营发展报告》显示，在2023年火锅锅底口味排行热度上，酸汤锅底位居第二，仅次于牛油锅底。消费端对酸汤口味的喜爱也显而易见。截至今年2月21日，抖音上关于“酸汤火锅”话题的视频累计播放量已经达到4.5亿次；小红书上关于“酸汤火锅”的笔记也有近9万篇。

Wang Peng, associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "With consumers' tastes becoming increasingly diversified, traditional hot pot bases such as spicy soup and light soup no longer meet shifting demands. Sour soup, as a base with a unique taste, is better at gustatory stimulation. In addition, sour food conforms to modern people's pursuit of a healthy diet, as it is rich in vitamin C and beneficial bacteria, which help with digestion and immunity enhancement."

北京社会科学院副研究员王鹏表示:“随着消费者的口味变得越来越多样化，传统的麻辣火锅和清汤火锅不再满足不断变化的需求。酸汤作为一种口味独特的底料，更能刺激味觉。此外，酸味食物也符合现代人对健康饮食的追求，因为它有助于消化和增强免疫力。”

Haidilao's innovative attempt is also in line with the country's rural vitalization efforts. Leishan county boasts rich mountain forestry resources, but inadequate arable land and limited industrial space.

“雷山酸汤锅”这口酸爽的背后，是海底捞将地域风味推向全国的一次重要尝试，也开辟了公司支持乡村振兴和地方产业发展的新路径。

With the help of Haidilao, local enterprises' manufacturing process has been modernized, and household incomes have been rising significantly. Currently, there are several companies in the area producing fish sauce sour. Taking Guizhou Leishan Fish Sauce Sour Technology Development Co Ltd as an example, the company manufactures 1,000 metric tons of such fish sauce sour per year, creating an output value of 30 million yuan ($4.1 million).

目前，海底捞已与当地企业达成合作，初步敲定了超300吨鱼酱酸的收购订单，这相当于合作企业鱼酱酸年产量的三分之一，为企业解决销售端后顾之忧、持续扩大产能提供了信心和底气。

In addition, the introduction of fish sauce sour soup hot pot to Haidilao's outlets nationwide attracts tens of thousands of tourists to visit Leishan, boosting the local tourism sector, said Guo Changbiao, head of the Leishan agriculture and rural affairs bureau.

雷山县农业农村局局长郭昌标表示，海底捞大批量订单采购雷山鱼酱酸，解决了鱼酱酸销售端的后顾之忧。在他看来，酸汤产品市场需求的提升，将促进雷山县和海底捞不断加深合作，从而带动黔东南州酸汤产业上下游产业链的联动发展。

Source:chinadaily

Editor: Chen Dawei

Senior Editor: MinJie