Hot and Sour Glass Noodles

Hot and sour glass noodles are made from sweet-potato and pea starch, served in a sour-spicy broth of chili oil, Sichuan pepper, aromatic vinegar, soy sauce, crisp-fried soybeans, peanuts, scallion, and coriander, numbing, spicy, sour, and aromatic, with a smooth, springy chew, a favorite Sichuan-Chongqing street snack.

It grew from folk cooking in the region, evolving out of homely sweet-potato noodles; simple to make and bracingly sour-spicy, it spread through the lanes and forms part of Chongqing's quick-bite street-food culture.

Usually a roadside snack cooked and eaten on the spot, the noodles are blanched, ladled with broth, tossed, and slurped hot; with a strong sour-spicy flavor, ample broth, and plenty of toppings, it is a common choice while wandering the streets.

A good bowl calls for noodles that stay slippery rather than mushy, a balance of sour and spicy in the broth, and crisp fried soybeans as the finishing touch.