Did you know that you can make restaurant-style Hot And Sour Soup in just a few minutes at home! It’s super quick and easy to make, and you can adapt it to your personal taste! This Hot And Sour Soup is incredibly delicious, hearty, sour and as spicy as you like it!
Hot And Sour Soup
I remember years ago when I first got married and I was trying to impress my husband with my cooking skills, I made my first Hot and Sour soup. I had bought a book with Chinese recipes and chose this soup because it’s my favorite whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant. As I remember, it turned out really well, but I was so overwhelmed with everything that I needed to do that I didn’t make it again for a few years.
Well since then, I realized that this hot and sour soup doesn’t have to be that hard to make. With my recipe, you can’t go wrong. You only need a few ingredients, and less than 30 minutes! This soup is incredibly easy to make! My favorite thing about it is that you can easily customize it and use your favorite veggies or proteins.
What You’ll Need To Make Hot And Sour Soup
- Mushrooms – Shiitake mushrooms are a must in this soup. Other mushrooms you can add are enoki mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms or even some oyster mushrooms.
- Carrots – You’ll need only a carrot julienned.
- Tofu – Firm tofu is also a must in a good hot and sour soup. You can also add some cooked chicken or pork if you want for additional protein.
- Bamboo Shoots – I love bamboo shoots and I think they are amazing in this soup. If you don’t like them, you can skip them.
- Broth – I used chicken broth but if you’re looking for a true vegetarian version you can add vegetable broth.
- Soy Sauce – I like to add a bit of dark soy sauce to darken the soup a bit, but also regular low sodium soy sauce for additional flavor.
- Vinegar – Just plain white vinegar is needed to give us that sour taste we love.
- Cornstarch – We just need a bit of cornstarch mixed with some water to thicken the broth.
- Eggs – Whisked eggs are added to the soup to create beautiful egg ribbons.
- Sesame Oil – I love to garnish this soup when serving with a bit of sesame oil for that extra flavor.
- White Pepper – If you have it, I strongly recommend using white pepper because it has a different and stronger flavor than black pepper.
How To Make Hot And Sour Soup
- Add veggies and broth: In a large pot or saucepan, add the carrots, mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Stir in soy sauce and simmer: Add the white pepper, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, and vinegar. Continue simmering for another 3 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
- Thicken the soup: Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for another minute until the soup has thickened.
- Drizzle in eggs and season: Stirring the soup in a circular motion, drizzle in the eggs in a thin stream to create egg ribbons. Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and vinegar for a more vinegary taste.
- Garnish and serve: Serve in bowls with a drizzle of sesame oil and garnish with green onions.
FAQs
Hot and sour soup is an Asian mushroom soup usually made with tofu or chicken that is sour, a bit spicy and savory.
Instead of chicken broth, use a good low sodium vegetarian broth.
Other great veggies you an add are napa cabbage or bok choy. Other proteins are chicken, shrimp, or pork.
Tips For Making Hot And Sour Soup
- For additional protein you can add some cooked chicken or pork to the soup. Shrimp is also a good addition.
- Make sure the tofu is firm tofu otherwise it might fall apart in the soup.
- Feel free to experiment with other spices like some ground ginger, or some cayenne pepper for some heat.
- When pouring the eggs, don’t pour too fast, you want to go slow to get nice egg ribbons.
- Don’t add the sesame oil until the end as garnish, if you add it to the soup the oil will blend in and you won’t taste it as much.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze it for several weeks.
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Hot And Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small carrot julienned
- 7 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced, stems removed
- 4 ounces firm tofu sliced
- 4 ounces bamboo shoots strips (canned)
- 6 cups chicken broth low sodium or no sodium added
- 1 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- 2 large eggs beaten
- salt to taste
To Serve
- sesame oil
- 2 green onions sliced on the diagonal
Instructions
- Add veggies and broth: In a large pot or saucepan, add the carrots, mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Stir in soy sauce and simmer: Add the white pepper, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, and vinegar. Continue simmering for another 3 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
- Thicken the soup: Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for another minute until the soup has thickened.
- Drizzle in eggs and season: Stirring the soup in a circular motion, drizzle in the eggs in a thin stream to create egg ribbons. Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and vinegar for a more vinegary taste.
- Garnish and serve: Serve in bowls with a drizzle of sesame oil and garnish with green onions.
Video
Recipe Notes
- For additional protein you can add some cooked chicken or pork to the soup. Shrimp is also a good addition.
- Make sure the tofu is firm tofu otherwise it might fall apart in the soup.
- Feel free to experiment with other spices like some ground ginger, or some cayenne pepper for some heat.
- When pouring the eggs, don’t pour too fast, you want to go slow to get nice egg ribbons.
- Don’t add the sesame oil until the end as garnish, if you add it to the soup the oil will blend in and you won’t taste it as much.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. You can also freeze it for several weeks.
This looks so good Any! Any way to make this GF? Could I use Tamari instead on both soy sauce variations? Do you think it would still be good?
I’m not an expert on GF, so you’d have to make sure you use GF products.
Followed recipe exactly! Turned out perfectly – tangy from vinegar, salty from the soy sauce. Next time I’ll skip bamboo shoots only because I just don’t like them. Definitely will make again.
So good! I used baby bella mushrooms because that’s what I had on hand. I also substituted rice wine vinegar for white vinegar. Yum! Definitely going to make this again and again!
So glad you liked it!
I love hot and sour soup broth. I don’t like mushrooms or tofu. Are there ingredients I could leave out to just get the hot and sour broth.
You can leave out the tofu and add chicken or another protein you like, but the mushrooms are pretty important to add to the flavor of the broth.
Could I leave out the bamboo shoots too? Or do they add flavor? I tend to strain everything out and just drink the hot and sour broth. Haha
I would add them, they do add a bit of flavor, and yeah you can definitely strain everything out after.
This recipe is outstanding!
I have made this twice and served it to people. Both times they thought I bought it at a Chinese Take-out.
Ingredients are easy to find and it is so easy to make. I didn’t want to order dark Soy Sauce on the web since there is no Asian store around, so I just bought a different brand at the grocery store that looked darker. It worked out great,
So happy to hear this! I’m so glad you guys liked it!
What makes the soup spicy? Should I add red pepper flakes?
The white pepper!
Hot and Sour Soup is one of my favorites and this recipe is excellent! Easy to make and so delicious. I made enough to freeze in individual servings so now I’ve got some quick and healthy lunches at the ready.
So glad you like the recipe! 🙂
I make this with the traditional dried lily flower, wood ear and shiitake mushrooms. Also, a small amount of julienned pork shoulder adds a lot of flavor.
I will be trying this recipe. Question: do you suggest distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar ? Thank you!
I used regular distilled white vinegar, but rice vinegar would be nice too!