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By Chris Joe
5 from 105 votes
Nov 10, 2023, Updated Dec 04, 2023
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Hot and Sour Soup is a common dish you can find just about any Chinese restaurant. It’s an extremely flavorful soup made with a variety of mushrooms & tofu, and seasoned perfectly a bit of spice from the red pepper and tanginess from the vinegar, with layers of silky egg ribbons floating throughout the soup. It’s a budget friendly Chinese classic that is so delicious!
Hot and Sour soup is super easy to make (done in 20 minutes!) and just as classic as chicken noodle soup in my opinion! If you’re a fan of Hot and Sour soup, you’ll never need to order takeout again after trying this recipe!
Watch the Hot and Sour Soup Recipe Video Below!
Ingredients for Hot and Sour Soup
This Hot and Sour Soup recipe is comfort in a bowl! Here is what you’ll need for the recipe:
- 8cupschicken stock
- 3tbspdistilled white vinegar (you can substitute rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar)
- 1tspwhite pepper (you can substitute black pepper)
- kosher salt(to taste)
- 1/2tspsugar
- 3tbsplight soy saucelow sodium
- 2tspdark soy sauce
- 1/2tspmsg
- 1tspsesame oil
Vegetables
- 12ozassorted mushroomsI used sliced wood ear, shiitake, and king oyster mushrooms
- 2green onionschopped
- 3dried red chili peppersor 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
- 6ozfirm tofucut into 1″ pieces
- 4ozbamboo shootssliced
- 1/2 tbspneutral oil
- 3eggs
Cornstarch Slurry
- 1/4cupcornstarch
- 1/2cupwater
INGREDIENTS TIPS
MUSHROOMS
Feel free to use whatever mushrooms you like in this dish. I’m using a variety of shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms due to their flavor and variety in texture. If you are using dried shiitake mushroom, make sure you rehydrate them with hot water until soft prior to slicing. Some people like to add sliced pork for extra meatiness.
CORNSTARCH SLURRY
This is the KEY ingredient to thickening the soup base. The cornstarch slurry will help thicken the stock to the consistency you like! If you like the soup thinner, add less, but if you like an extra thick soup add a little more! You can always adjust with more chicken broth if the ratio is off.
Hot and Sour Soup: Recipe Instructions
1. Prep your ingredients
This soup does not take long to make, and most of the work is prepping the ingredients. Slice the tofu, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots into strips. Next, beat 3 eggs along with a tablespoon of water in a bowl. In a separate bowl, create a cornstarch slurry by mixing together 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of water.
For some spice, I’m using 3 dried red chilis, but you can omit them or adjust the spice level to your preference.
2. Fry the chilis
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat 1/2 tbsp of neutral oil over medium heat and add the chilis. Infuse the chilis in the oil for about a minute until they release their flavor into the oil, then remove the chilis from the pot.
3. Add the chicken broth and season the soup
Next, add 8 cups of a high quality chicken broth or stock (I always use Kettle & Fire – get 20% off your order when you use code CJPINS!). Turn the heat up to high and season with white pepper, salt to taste, sugar, msg, light & dark soy sauce, and sesame oil. The broth with turn a dark brown color like the photo below.
4. Add the mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots
To the broth, add in your sliced mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots. Mix those in and cover to bring the soup to a boil.
5. Add the cornstarch slurry
Once the soup comes to a boil, give your cornstarch slurry a final mix to pick up any cornstarch that has sunk to the bottom of your mixture, then pour in the slurry. Mix until the broth has thickened to your preference.
6. Form the egg ribbons
Now that the soup has thickened, turn the heat to low. Slowly pour in the beaten egg in a thin stream while simultaneously mixing the soup and egg with a ladle or spoon in a circular motion. If done correctly, you will begin to see the egg form silky egg ribbons throughout the soup that gives Hot and Sour soup its signature look!
7. Garnish and serve!
To finish the soup, add the white vinegar along with freshly chopped scallions. Give the soup a final mix and adjust for any seasoning if needed. Serve it up and enjoy!
If you liked this Hot and Sour soup recipe, check out some of the most popular Chinese Take-Out recipes on the blog!
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Beef and Broccoli
- Sesame Chicken
- String Bean Chicken
- Egg Drop Soup
RECIPE TIPS
SUCCESS IS IN THE PREP
For a recipe that comes together extremely quickly, the key to pulling this recipe off successfully is having your ingredients prepped and in bowls right next to your pot!
SILKY EGG TECHNIQUE
When adding the egg into the soup, make sure the egg is being poured in a steady stream from the bowl, ideally using a ladle in the other hand to stir the soup as the egg is being poured. This will help create those restaurant style silky ribbons rather than clumped up scrambled eggs!
5 from 105 votes
Hot and Sour Soup
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Save
Better than takeout Hot and Sour Soup! This rich and flavorful soup is packed with wood ear mushrooms, tofu, and silky egg with a bit of spice and tang to make for an incredible comfort meal!
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 tsp white pepper
- kosher salt, (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce, low sodium
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp msg
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Vegetables
- 12 oz assorted mushrooms, I used sliced wood ears mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 3 dried red chilis, or 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
- 6 oz firm tofu, cut into 1" pieces
- 4 oz bamboo shoots, sliced
- 1/2 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 eggs
Cornstarch Slurry
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Slice vegetables and tofu and set aside. Mix together cornstarch slurry and beat eggs in two separate bowls.
Heat wok or heavy bottomed pot on high and add 1/2 tbsp of oil. Add chilis and saute for 1 minute and remove once the chilis have infused in the oil.
In the pot, pour in 8 cups of chicken stock and season with white pepper, sugar, msg, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix and season with salt to taste.
Add sliced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and tofu and mix well. Cover and bring to a boil.
Uncover the pot and mix in the cornstarch slurry and stir until the broth has thickened to your preference.
Turn heat to low, then pour in the beaten egg in a steady stream into the soup while simultaneously mixing the soup with a ladle to form egg ribbons throughout the soup
Add 3 tbsp of white vinegar and additional sesame oil to taste. Mix together, garnish with green onions and serve.
Notes
If you are using dried shiitake mushrooms, be sure to rehydrate them in hot water until they’re soft before slicing the mushrooms.
For the egg ribbons, my key tip here is to stir the soup in a circular motion and slowly pour in a thin, steady stream of egg. Ensure the soup is not too hot (test a small amount of egg to see if the ribbons form correctly) – this is another reason for less than ideal egg ribbons!
Nutrition
Calories: 211kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 15gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 996mgPotassium: 412mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 171IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Tried this recipe?Mention @cj.eats_ or tag #cjeatsrecipes!