Have a sweet tooth but also crave salty foods? This three-ingredient drink will satisfy all your cravings and can be made in a flash!
Plum Soda (Soda Xi Muoi)
This drink is not aesthetically appealing but it sure as hell is delectable and highly underrated. It is a cult favorite of many Vietnamese folks and deserves more recognition especially in the US. Plum soda is what you would order at a Vietnamese restaurant to accompany your hot bowl of Pho or any meal really. Simply put, this soda will give Sprite a run for their money if it ever went mainstream.
Chinese Pickled Plums
First of all, yes we are using Chinese pickled plums for a Vietnamese drink. Koon Chun Brand is arguably the best brand for these pickled plums in the US and can be found in any Asian grocery store. I haven’t seen any other brand that matches the taste and quality. Secondly, if we were to compare these plums for reference, I would say that it resembles Japanese umeboshi. The main difference is that the Chinese pickled plums are saltier.
This plum soda is:
Salty
Sweet
Bubbly
Refreshing
& Wonderful
Please let me know if you gave this recipe a try. Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo on Instagram @tifflovestofu. I’d love to see or hear how it turned out for you.
Three-Ingredient Plum Soda (Soda Xi Muoi)
Ingredients
- 2 pickled plums (Plum in Brine by Koon Chun)
- 250 ml sparkling water or club soda (unflavored)
- 2 tbsp rock sugar syrup or regular sugar syrup
- Ice
- Optional
- 1 mint sprig
- ¼ lime (lime wedge)
Directions
- Step 1 Heat up ½ cup of water with rock sugar or regular sugar until it boils and the sugar melts into a syrup. You can save any leftover syrup for up to a week.
- Step 2 In a tall 10 oz. glass, add the plums and lightly break it apart with a fork to release the salty flavor.
- Step 3 Add ice, sparkling water, sugar syrup and garnish with mint. Feel free to add the juice of a lime wedge for a tart kick.