Hot and Sour Soup
Hot and Sour Soup is a popular Chinese soup you can find at pretty much any Chinese restaurants across the United States. It has a savory and vinegary flavor profile with hints of spiciness. It is filled with mushrooms, tofu and bamboo shoots, and thickened with egg strands and corn starch.
This hot and sour soup recipe is straight-forward and easy to make at home. And it is healthier and tastes much fresher than the Chinese takeout ones!
The Best Easy Hot and Sour Soup
I’ve eaten hot and sour soup since I was a kid and it is one of my favorite soups to date. Something about that complex flavor of sour, spicy, savory with a hint of sweetness always get me wanting more.
Similar to egg drop soup, I wanted to perfect a hot and sour soup recipe because the idea of making it at home (and having free flow of it) is very appealing.
My mission was to put together an easy and straight-forward way to make a delicious, restaurant-quality hot and sour soup.
I didn’t want to create a recipe where you have to drive to three different Asian store to find the ingredients. I wanted to create a simplified hot and sour soup recipe but still retain the big complex flavors and beautiful textures it is known for.
That’s the goal – a hot and sour soup recipe that is simply good and easily made in anybody’s home.
What is hot and sour soup?
Hot and Sour Soup is a classic Chinese soup that you can find in many Chinese restaurants across the world today. The hot and sour soup we enjoy today in the U.S. varies slightly from original ones from Sichuan or Henan, China, but it retains many of its distinct and delicious flavors.
When done correctly, hot and sour soup is a gorgeous concoction of tangy and spicy flavors, and typically contains mushroom, tofu, and pork. Some will incorporate more traditional ingredients such as dried black fungi and multiple type of mushrooms.
However, you can always expect them to be slightly thick in consistency, slightly savory, slightly sweet, sour and has a spicy kick to it.
Because I’m simplifying my version of hot and sour soup, I am limiting the ingredients to a handful of items that you can typically find in the store – bamboo shoots (canned version), mushroom, and tofu.
Sometimes I like to add strips of pork to the soup as well, but I decided to go meatless today.
I use Shiitake mushrooms for this recipe, and it typically comes dried in a package. Because of that, I had to soak it in water for 30-45 minutes to soften them before slicing and cooking them. You can opt for white mushrooms or baby Bella mushroom that you can find fresh in most stores and no soaking is needed
Ingredients
I’ve came up with a solid hot and sour soup recipe that requires a minimal amount of ingredients, does not use any premixed ingredients but is still truly authentic tasting.
Here are the ingredients needed:
- chicken broth – vegetable broth can be used as well. I find that chicken broth is typically more flavorful than vegetable broth. Use good-quality (free range and organic) for best flavor.
- Shiitake mushrooms – they typically comes in dried form and you’ll want to soak them in water for 30 minutes before slicing. Other mushrooms such as white or baby Bella can be used as well and they do not require soaking.
- bamboo shoots – I typically get canned bamboo shoots that are already sliced, and drain the access liquid before using. You can definitely use fresh if you prefer (they are harder to find in regular grocery stores though).
- tofu – comes in block form. You’ll want to drain access water before using.
- corn starch – this will thicken the soup and is key to get that silky, thick texture.
- rice vinegar – another vinegar such as white vinegar can be used, but rice vinegar is the best and most authentic to use for this.
- soy sauce – helps flavor and bring some saltiness to the soup.
- sesame oil – brings that unique nutty flavor to the soup.
- rice wine – this brings the umami flavors. Be sure to not skip this.
- ginger powder – you can use fresh minced ginger as well, especially if you do not like the powdery texture of the ginger powder. If you are using using fresh minced ginger, remember to multiply by 3 since fresh ginger is milder than ginger in powder form
- granulated sugar – this will help balance out the saltiness of the soup
- garlic – fresh minced garlic is best, as it brings better flavors than garlic powder
- white ground pepper – typically used for traditional flavor and to bring some spiciness to the soup. Black pepper can be used too.
- red pepper flakes – another ingredient to really bring on the spicy! Omit this if you do not like your hot and sour soup too spicy.
How to Make Hot and Sour Tofu Soup
Step 1: Prepare ingredients
If dried shiitake mushrooms is used, start soaking them in water for 30 minutes to an hour beforehand to soften them.
Slice mushroom (baby Bella, cremini, or any other mushroom can be used as well), tofu and bamboo shoots into thin slices. Thin slices are recommended for this hot and sour soup so that it is easy to scoop up the ingredients as you are drinking the soup.
Mince garlic into small pieces, or use garlic powder.
Step 2: Bring together soup
Pour chicken broth in the pot or Dutch oven 6 qt or larger . Bring together broth and corn starch.
Important: Do NOT heat up pot yet. Corn starch will clump up and is harder to dissolve if broth is hot/boiling.
Using a spoon, dissolve corn starch into broth.
Once corn starch is mixed into broth, turn on the stove.
Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, garlic, sugar, salt, white pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Bring soup to boil, then add bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and tofu.
Boil the soup again and reduce heat to medium low, stirring soup every once in a while.
Step 3: Adding egg white strands
Once tofu, mushroom and bamboo shoots are boiling in the broth, break two eggs into a small mixing bowl and beat the egg lightly using a fork so the egg white and yolk are mixed together.
Slowly pour the egg into the soup while continuously stirring.
Egg white strands will form in the soup, and this will also help thicken the hot and sour soup.
Alternatively, to thicken more, more corn starch can be added as well by making a corn starch slurry (combining corn starch with water) and then adding corn starch slurry into hot and sour soup.
Give the soup a taste test and adjust accordingly by adding salt or soy sauce to increase the umami flavor scale, rice vinegar if you prefer a more sour and tangy taste, or sugar if soup is too salty.
Because salt will intensify the other ingredients in the soup, avoid adding too much of it – be sure to taste as you add.
The final product is a silky smooth and thick soup filled with juicy mushrooms, chewy bamboo shoots and soft tofu. I love how hot and sour soup is light but still satisfying, a mouthful of umami with tangy and spicy flavors.
I like to garnish my hot and sour soup with green onions (for the added freshness).
And that’s it!
A large pot of cozy and comforting hot and sour soup that you can enjoy for many many days! YES PLEASE!
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to take note when making hot and sour soup:
- Adjust flavors: feel free to adjust the amount of vinegar and pepper to taste. You can make the soup tangier or spicier according to your preference. Also, soy sauce and rice vinegar will help bring on the umami notes as well.
- Thicken the soup: for an even thicker soup, simply increase the amount of cornstarch slightly. Dilute cornstarch in room temperature water first before pouring water mixture into soup to avoid clumping.
- Spice level control: to control the level of spiciness, adjust the amount of red pepper flakes and white (or black) pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shiitake mushrooms do provide a distinct flavor to hot and sour soup. However, you can substitute it with other mushrooms such as white mushrooms and baby Bella mushrooms, which are much easier to find in most grocery stores. They do not have the exact same distinct flavor as Shiitake, but it’ll still make a pretty tasty hot and sour soup.
To thicken your Hot and Sour soup, create a corn starch slurry (dissolve corn starch in room temperature water) and add to the soup. You’ll need to bring your soup to boil so it actually gets thicker.
Use less white (or black pepper) and red pepper flakes.
Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and omit the egg if you are looking to make it vegan friendly.
What to serve with Hot and Sour Soup?
Serve Hot and Sour Soup with these popular Asian dishes on the blog! HELLO, PERFECTION!
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
- Beef with Ginger and Scallions
- Garlic Soy Chicken and Veggie Rice Bowl
- Steak Fried Rice
- Crispy Sesame Chicken
- Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles
- Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork
- Kung Pao Shrimp
DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍
More Delicious Asian Soups
- Egg Drop Soup
- Wonton Soup
- Thai Coconut Curry Soup
- Tom Yum Soup (by Hot Thai Kitchen)
Hot and Sour Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup Shiitake mushroom sliced
- 16 oz soft tofu sliced
- 1½ cups bamboo shoots sliced, canned
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 2 tsp ginger powder or fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt more if needed
- 1 tsp ground white pepper reduce for less spicy
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes reduce for less spicy
- 2 egg
- 2 tbsp green onions sliced, garnish
Instructions
- Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water for 30-45 minutes. Skip this step if not using dried mushrooms.
- Slice mushroom, tofu and bamboo shoots. Mince garlic.
- Bring chicken broth to a pot and add corn starch to broth. Important: do not heat up pot yet. Corn starch will clump up and is harder to dissolve if broth is hot/boiling. Using a spoon, mix corn starch into broth. Then turn on the heat.
- Add garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger powder, sugar, salt, white pepper and red pepper flakes to broth. Bring to boil.
- Once broth is boiled, add sliced mushroom, tofu and bamboo shoots to broth. Bring to boil again. Once boiled, lower heat to medium low and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Taste soup and add more salt if need. Salt will open up the flavors in addition to increasing the saltiness of the broth.
- Switch off heat. Beat eggs in a small bowl and slowly pour beaten egg into soup. Stir while pouring the egg into soup.
- Taste soup and add more salt if needed to open up the flavors. Also adjust other seasonings as needed – add more red pepper flakes and/or white pepper to make it spicier, or balance out the flavors with some more sugar. Stir to combine.
- Remove from heat. Garnish with green onions. Serve and enjoy!
Wow your homemade hot & sour soup looks good! Never had it home made. I am going to give it a try!
Thank you! 🙂 We love this homemade – makes it easier to control the salt content and tailor the ingredients to your liking. Let me know how it goes!
Wow your homemade hot & sour soup looks so good! Never had it homemade. I am going to give it a try .
I need this recipe! I love this stuff, but hate ordering out from restaurants!
I hope you enjoyed it!!
I use hot and sour soup as a determining factor in whether or not I will return to a restaurant. Now, I can make it at home whenever I am craving it. This recipe is delicous!
Thank you so much, Kendall! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂