Sopas y CaldosMedium

Sopa de Piedra (Hot Stone Soup)

Name: Sopa de Piedra (Hot Stone Soup)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 400 g Prawns frescos (o langostinos); 3 Tomatoes; 2 Serrano chilli; 1 White onion; 3 sprigs Epazote; 1 bunch Fresh coriander; 2 cloves Garlic; 2 Limes; 10 g Salt

60 min (30 prep + 30 cook) Medium 4 servings Oaxaca

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 25 Mar 2026

Ancestral Chinantec broth cooked with red-hot river stones placed directly inside a gourd bowl.

About this recipe

Sopa de piedra is a pre-Hispanic dish from the Chinantec community of San Felipe Usila in Oaxaca. It is prepared by placing river stones heated to red-hot directly into a gourd bowl containing water, river prawns, tomato, chilli, onion and epazote. The blazing stones cook the soup instantly, creating a unique culinary experience. It is one of the oldest dishes in Mexico still prepared using the same ancestral technique.

History & Origin

Sopa de piedra is one of the oldest dishes in Mexico and possibly in all of the Americas. It originated in the Chinantec community of San Felipe Usila, a town nestled in the northern mountains of Oaxaca beside the Usila river. The technique of cooking with hot stones dates back thousands of years, when indigenous peoples did not have fire-resistant vessels. Rather than placing the gourd over fire, they put the fire into the gourd through river stones heated to red-hot. The stones used must be of a specific type found in the river, capable of withstanding thermal shock without breaking or contaminating the food. Tradition dictates that this dish is prepared exclusively by men as an offering to women, especially during celebrations and courtship. The fisherman catches river prawns and fresh fish, lights a bonfire beside the river, heats the stones for at least an hour, then introduces them one by one into the gourd containing the raw ingredients. The effect is spectacular: the water boils instantly and the seafood cooks in seconds. Today sopa de piedra is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Oaxaca and has become a symbol of the cultural resilience of Mexico s indigenous peoples.

Estimated cost

£10.50

Total cost

£2.63

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

180

Calories

18g

Protein

16g

Carbohydrates

Fat

2.5g

Fibre

420mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Prepare the ingredientes: chop the tomato, the onion and the serrano chilli. Limpia the prawns dejandoles the cascara for mas flavour. Ten listo the epazote and coriander.
💡 If you don't have prawns of rio, the langostinos funcionan well.
2
Heat stones of rio limpias on brasas or high heat for at least 45 minutes until esten to the red vivo.
💡 Use stones of rio redondeadas, nunca stones calizas that pueden estallar.
3
En a jicara large or container resistente to the calor, place the tomato chopped, the onion, the chilli, the garlic, the epazote and the prawns crudos. Anade water until cubrir.
💡 You can use a plate hondo of barro thick como alternativa a the jicara.
4
Con pinzas largas, introduce a piedra hot in the jicara. El water hervira immediately. Repeat with 2-3 stones mas until all this cooked.
💡 Mete the stones a a for controlar the coccion. Los prawns cocinan in seconds.
5
Remove thes stones with cuidado, anade salt, chopped coriander and a drizzle of limon. Serve immediately in the misma jicara.
💡 La sopa should comer of inmediato while this hirviendo.
6
Alternativa without stones: hierve water in a pot, anade tomato, onion, chilli and epazote. Cook 15 minutes and add the prawns to the final for 3 minutes.
💡 La version without stones pierde the flavour mineral pero mantiene the esencia of the platillo.