Suan La Fen · Taste of Home

Active: 20 mins | Serves: 2

Special Equipment: Medium pot, vinegar soul

Ingredients

Sweet potato glass noodles
1 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp crushed garlic
½ tsp chili oil (or more. You know yourself.)
Handful of roasted peanuts
Chopped cilantro, green onion
Optional: pickled mustard greens, bean sprouts

Method

Steps showing ingredients and broth base

“The heat in Suan La Fen
should build—layer it.
Don’t shock the tongue.”

Mom Pepper Doodle

Boil your glass noodles until chewy, drain, and set aside.
In a serving bowl, mix garlic, soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili oil.
Pour a ladle of hot noodle water into the bowl to activate flavor.
Add cooked noodles and top with peanuts, cilantro, and whatever toppings your mom approves of.
Mix well. Slurp louder than you should. That’s the way.

My Little Memories

Mom & Dad cooking

Every Sunday, Dad rinsed noodles while Mom stirred vinegar with garlic. No timers, no measurements—just the smell to know it was ready.

Chef’s Notes

🥢 Don’t rinse the noodles in cold water—this isn’t a salad. Let the starch do its thing.

🧂 Salt your noodle water like soup—it’s flavor, not just heat.

🫙 Add black vinegar last—it’s the perfume, not the base.

🪄 No timer? Noodles are ready when they *bounce back* but don’t bite you.

🧼 Clean as you go. (Mom’s #1 rule—makes eating feel earned!)

🫶 One swirl of oil on top = love. That’s how Grandma finishes hers.

More for the Table

Twice Cooked Pork

Twice-Cooked Pork

Spicy Peppercorn Chicken

Spicy Peppercorn Chicken